


Those Who Help Us Most to Grow

by Rose_of_Pollux



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (Season 6B)
Genre: Canon-typical peril, Gen, and several companions, features ALL Doctors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-05
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-18 11:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 63,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5927158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Travels through time and space inevitably lead you to the people who shape you into who you are. A series of 50 related vignettes written for the 2013 50th DW Anniversary, featuring Jamie McCrimmon's interactions with various characters in the Whoniverse, some canon interactions, and some requiring a stretch of the imagination, both Classic & New Who. Also, expect the Second Doctor to be prominently featured.  Takes place before and during Season 6B.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Snapshot

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: The characters aren't mine and the stories are! I'd taken up a challenge to write 50 different relationships among characters in one fandom, and I did this as a celebration for the 50th Anniversary back in 2013. I decided to do a series of vignettes on Jamie McCrimmon and his interactions with various other characters in the Whoniverse. Some of these will be canon interactions, while others will require a stretch of the imagination. Expect characters from both Classic Who and New Who.

One of the things Ben found amusing upon Jamie joining the TARDIS crew was the fact that the Highlander was so easily amazed by the most mundane things. This led to several opportunities to take advantage of it. On one such occasion, Ben had been reminiscing over some photographs he had been carrying with him in his wallet, but Jamie, who had casually glanced over, had become intrigued by the pictures.

"Who made that!?" he demanded, holding one of the photos close so that he could see every single detail. "It looks so lifelike!"

"I took that picture," Ben said. "That was me old frigate, that was— _HMS Teazer_. First day there—took a whole lot of pictures then."

Jamie stared at him in utter amazement.

"Ye painted that!?" he said, gaping at the picture again. "It's so _tiny_! How did ye do it?!"

"Of course I didn't paint it! I took it with a camera!"

"Eh?"

"You know—a camera!" He stared at the blank look on the Scot's face. "…Oh. That's right; you _don't_ know."

Jamie shook his head, and Ben smirked, seeing the chance for a little fun. The sailor took the camera out of his bag.

"This is a camera."

"Cam…er…a," Jamie repeated, making sure he got it right.

"Correct."

"And it paints a picture?" the Scot asked.

"Oh, no. It's magic."

Jamie's eyes widened, remembering the stories of witches and sorcerers he had heard as a child.

"That's right," Ben said. "This camera… it takes something and then freezes it, shrinks it down, puts it on that bit of paper there, and replaces the original with something just like so that no one knows it's gone."

"It's witchcraft!" Jamie exclaimed

"Oh, me mum's mum had some of it in her blood," the sailor said, struggling hard not to laugh at the expression on the Scot's face. "I seem to have gotten the knack for it, but… sometimes, I do make mistakes. Look at this one."

He held out a photo of a white-haired man, dressed in a black suit.

"Who's that?" Jamie asked, taking it.

"That's the Doctor."

" _No_."

"Oh, yes," Ben said, seriously (which was a challenge, seeing as how he was close to bursting with laughter). "I made a bit of a mistake when I got him down on the photo. When he got replaced, the replacement was the Doctor you see now."

" _No_ ," Jamie said again, his eyes wide in horror. "That cannae be the Doctor on that paper! Ye're lying to me, aren't ye!?"

"Well, don't take my word for it! Oi, Polly!"

"Yes?" the blonde asked, walking over.

"Tell Jamie who this is in that photo; he won't believe me."

Polly took a quick look at the photo in Jamie's hand.

"That's the Doctor," she confirmed.

" _NO_ ," Jamie said, for the third time.

"I know it's hard to believe, but that's what he looked like when Ben and I first met him," she said. "He changed. It's… Well, it's rather difficult to explain… One moment, he looked like that, and the next moment, he looked like _that_." She nodded her head towards the TARDIS console, where the Doctor was busy with the controls.

And, with that, she walked off, back to her room, leaving behind a very horrified Jamie and a very amused Ben.

"Believe me now?" Ben asked.

Jamie certainly did, if his expression was any indication. He slowly backed away from Ben.

"And where are you running off to?" the sailor asked. "What's the rush? This was just getting interesting."

"I… I just remembered something I left in my room; I should go get it," Jamie stammered.

"Oh, but we're not through here, Jamie," Ben said. "You know my secret now; I can't accept that."

"N-Now… ye… ye leave me be, eh?" the Scot asked, holding his hands out in front of him to offer some sort of protection. "I mean ye no harm; I ne'er said any word against those who practice witchcraft…"

"Oh, but I would love to add your photo to my collection," Ben smirked, holding up his camera.

Jamie let out a frightened cry and quickly dropped to his knees, clasping his hands out in front of him.

"Mercy!" he begged. "Don't bewitch me! Spare me; don't let the line of McCrimmon end with me!"

" _What_ is going on here?"

Jamie's frightened shouts had drawn the Doctor away from the console, surveying the situation at hand.

"I just wanted to take Jamie's picture, Doctor…" Ben said, innocently.

"Oh, well. Carry on."

Jamie let out a cry of disbelief.

"How can ye let him do that to me—after what he did to ye!? Look!"

He handed the Doctor the photo he was holding.

"Oh, my word…" the Doctor mused. "Well, it's not the most flattering photo of me, I will admit—the lighting isn't very good. And, of course, that was an entirely different face… Still, I'm sure Ben can work some magic with his camera here."

That had been the wrong choice of words; Jamie collapsed to the ground in a trembling mess.

"I don't want to be frozen on a paper fore'er while I'm replaced by something else that might not even look like me!" he howled.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Jamie! You won't…" The Doctor trailed off as he glanced at Ben, who was shaking from the effort of trying not to laugh. "Just a minute. Ben, what did you tell him?"

One explanation later, followed by a lesson from the Doctor as to what a camera really was, Ben was the one begging for mercy while being pursued by one very angry Scot who was screaming oaths at his retreating back.


	2. Lullaby

The camera incident had all been a joke to Ben, and even though Jamie knew that it had just been Ben's way of teasing him, he was still in a very sour mood from having been utterly humiliated, and he proceeded to lock himself in his room for the rest of the day, only stepping outside to go to the TARDIS library so that the Doctor could give him his daily lessons on how to read and write.

But even the Doctor could see that Jamie's heart wasn't in the lesson, and, so, he ended it early, asking the Scot if he wanted something to eat. But Jamie's response was a sullen refusal; he wanted nothing more than to just disappear.

The Doctor would have tried to coax Jamie into talking in order to get his troubles off of his chest, but, as it was, he knew that he still had to earn the Scot's trust, and pressing the issue was not going to help.

He let him go, casting a glance up at the ceiling.

"Look after him, won't you, Old Girl?"

The TARDIS let out a quiet whirr in response.

Jamie eventually returned to his room to see a hot meal waiting for him. He briefly considered eating, but, having lost his appetite earlier, he decided against it, placing the cover back on the tray of food. To his surprise, heating coils emerged from the walls, glowing red to keep the food warm for later.

He marveled at this for a moment and then sighed, lying down on his bed.

He wanted to go home—back to his own time, to 1746, where he knew he wouldn't be ridiculed for not knowing about cameras and photographs. Even if he was going to be thrown back into the midst of the Battle of Culloden, perhaps that was where he was meant to be; he was a McCrimmon, the last of a long line of wartime pipers. With his father and brothers having fallen in battle, there was no one left to carry on the tradition now that Jamie was traveling to places and times unknown.

With a twinge of his heart, he realized how much be missed his family—and how, even if he went back, they couldn't be there to welcome him. His mother had died from illness when he had been a child; the battle had taken everyone else.

As he shut his eyes, refusing to allow his emotions to get the better of him, he vaguely became aware of the room gently rocking back and forth. At first, he thought it had been due to some unexpected turbulence that the TARDIS had encountered, but he soon realized that the rocking was in a rhythmic fashion, with purpose.

With a start, Jamie realized that it was all too reminiscent of how, in his very young childhood, his mother used to cradle him to sleep.

He looked around the room again, at the walls and ceiling, and then as the lights began to dim on their own. The gentle rocking continued, and that's when Jamie realized something simultaneously incredible and shocking—

The TARDIS was doing this for him—to try to make him feel better. The TARDIS was keeping his dinner warm for him. But that was impossible, surely; if the TARDIS was doing all of that, then…

…The TARDIS had to be alive.

And if the TARDIS was alive, then she must be the one deciding where they went during the times the Doctor complained that things were out of his hands; Jamie had suspected that, despite insistence of the contrary, the Doctor sometimes had no control over where they ended up, and this revelation suddenly explained a lot of things.

And it also opened up numerous possibilities.

"Can ye take me home?" he asked, softly. "I want to go back… Please…"

The TARDIS continued to gently rock him, dimming the lights in the room further. A low hum filled the room—a typical mechanical hum, but one that was changing pitch.

She was singing a lullaby.

Jamie tried to protest, but even as he opened his mouth, he felt himself getting sleepy. Her efforts were working.

As he drifted off, Jamie conceded that, perhaps, there was more here for him than he first thought—and certainly more than he had left behind.

Perhaps… he'd reconsider his request.


	3. I've Just Begun to Care

Jamie awoke the next morning to the smell of a fresh breakfast in the place where his uneaten dinner had been the night before. Feeling considerably hungrier now, he ate, quietly thanking the TARDIS for her hospitality.

Warm meals such as these would be impossible to find if he went back to Culloden, he knew. But it was the life he knew—and what was the point in trying to learn the ways of a new life if he was going to be lied to or teased?

After finishing his breakfast, he headed out into the corridor, intending to have a word with the Doctor about the possibility of going back when he met Polly in the corridor, also.

"Oh. Hello," she said. She inwardly cringed as the Scot looked away, his face turning red again. "Oh, Jamie, I'm so sorry about what happened yesterday; I honestly had no idea that Ben was playing a trick on you. If I'd known, I'd have explained everything to you right then and there."

"It's fine," Jamie sighed, though he wasn't being entirely truthful. "The Doctor explained everything about the camera."

"Oh, good," Polly said. "Well, if there's anything you don't understand, you ask me or the Doctor, understand?"

Jamie almost opened his mouth to say that he might not be traveling with them for much longer after all, but decided against it—Polly would ask him to stay, and, most likely, the Doctor would, as well.

Perhaps this was something to take up with the TARDIS herself.

"Jamie?"

The Scot looked back to Polly, startled.

"Is something else bothering you?" she asked.

"No," he lied; Polly had been nice to him, at least, and he didn't want to hurt her feelings by letting her know that he didn't want to stay after all. "I was just wondering… Why did ye ask the Doctor to take me along?"

"Well, it was the middle of the war," she said. "We could hardly leave you behind, now could we? After all the help you gave us…"

Jamie didn't seem too thrilled by this answer. To Ben, he was there to serve as an amusement, while Polly had pitied him. And the Doctor… Well, he wasn't sure what the Doctor thought of him.

Polly glanced at the Scot again, seeing through his charade.

"I'm sorry you're not happy here," she said. "I just hated the thought of seeing you hurt—or worse. I didn't mean for this to be so unpleasant. I guess traveling around in the TARDIS isn't for everyone. I'll confess, I'm a little homesick myself, and I think Ben is, too, even if he won't admit it."

"Aye, but it's different for ye! Ye understand what's going on!" Jamie said, before he could stop himself.

"That's what this is about, isn't it?" Polly asked. "Trust me, Jamie, there are a lot of things I don't understand. In fact, I don't understand the Doctor—a man who can travel through time and space, and can get himself a new body if the old one wears out? …I don't think he's human."

"What is he, then?"

"I don't know," she confessed.

"…But ye decided to trust him anyway?"

"Well, yes. Don't you?"

Jamie had to think for a moment. The Doctor had volunteered to teach him how to read and write, and had chided Ben for teasing him about the camera. The Scot had to admit he wasn't sure what he had done to deserve such kindness from a man who, according to Polly, was not of the world that Jamie knew.

"I suppose so. Well, there's no reason for me nae to trust him."

"Well, that's good," Polly said. "You see? You don't have to understand everything—only the things that are important. And we're all here to help you—well, the Doctor and I are, anyway. And maybe Ben, too, once he stops acting like a schoolboy."

Jamie managed a chuckle at this, which Polly took as a hopeful sign.

"Feeling better, then?"

"Aye. Thanks."

Polly smiled and went on her way. Jamie stood in the corridor for a moment, pondering. He looked up towards the ceiling as the TARDIS softly whirred, and he had a feeling she was inquiring as to whether or not he still wanted to leave.

"I'll let ye know," he said, softly.


	4. I Have No More than I Did Before

Jamie still wasn't entirely sure about his final decision. It seemed that for every reason he could come up with for wanting to go back to Scotland, there was a reason to stay on the TARDIS, as well.

He sighed, deciding that he probably should, at least, discuss the topic with the Doctor; perhaps he could work something out with the TARDIS if Jamie decided that going home was the best idea.

When he reached the console room, however, the Doctor wasn't there. Ben was there, clearly looking for the Doctor, as well.

It was the first time Ben and Jamie had come face to face since the camera incident; the sailor and the piper spent about five minutes staring each other down before Ben decided that he would attempt to break the ice.

"Cor, it's like one of those American westerns, innit?"

He inwardly flinched at the blank look on Jamie's face; he'd done it again—referencing things that the Scot couldn't be expected to understand.

Polly now ran into the console room, staring apprehensively at the scene.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"Nothing to worry about, Duchess—just the two of us attempting a remake of High Noon."

"Och, I have better things to do than deal with ye," Jamie scowled. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Search me, mate—I'm looking for him, too."

"Oh, so ye di'n 'make him change' again, eh?" the Scot asked, sarcastically.

"Oh, can't you let that go?" Ben asked. "I said I was sorry—what more do you want from me?"

"That's enough!" Polly said, desperately trying to keep the peace. "I just saw the Doctor in his study, going over that 500 year diary of his."

"Aye, where's the study?"

"It doesn't matter; he shooed me out and locked the door," she sighed. "I think he's had enough of our petty, human problems and wants us to work them out ourselves."

Jamie looked away. Perhaps that was reason enough to insist on going back to Scotland; the Doctor had better things to do than to spend so much time teaching him to read and write and explaining things…

The Scot's thoughts were interrupted as the TARDIS suddenly lurched, as though she had been struck by something. With a yelp, he was thrown off of his feet; Polly stumbled, but maintained her footing—until Ben accidentally crashed into her as he was pitched off of his feet.

"What was that!?" Jamie exclaimed, trying to sit up as the TARDIS continued to shake.

"I don't know—for once, I know as much as you do!" the sailor said.

"Was that necessary!?" Polly chided him.

Before Jamie could answer back, the TARDIS violently lurched again, and the doors were suddenly blown open.

A blinding light and intense heat filled the console room as the TARDIS was sent careening off into space. Polly and Ben, who were closer to the open doors, began to fall back, getting dangerously close.

Jamie, forced to close his eyes from the blinding light, instinctively grabbed their wrists and pulled them away; but the sudden movement caused him to slip towards the open doors. He clawed at the floor, desperately; his skin felt as though it was on fire.

The Scot had just about given up, accepting that he was going to fall through the doors and into empty space—into whatever fireball was torturing him—when a hand grabbed ahold of his wrist.

"Jamie!"

It was the Doctor—but there was something about him that was very different. And as the otherworldly man pulled Jamie away from the doors, the Scot realized what it was.

For the first time, he didn't sound his usual, carefree self; the concern in the Doctor's voice had been jarring.

His eyes still closed, Jamie clutched at the Doctor's shoulders, fearful of falling out of the TARDIS. And the Doctor wrapped an arm around Jamie as he led him back to the console. An instant later, Jamie heard the TARDIS's doors close, followed by the familiar _vwoorp-vwoorp-vwoorp_ as they left the horrible spot they were in.

"Is everyone alright!?" the Doctor demanded.

"I… I think so!" Polly said, trying to catch her breath. "Ben!?"

"Y-Yeah…" the sailor stammered.

But Jamie's face and hands still felt like they were burning, and as he opened his eyes, he had another concern.

"I cannae see!" he cried, still clutching at the Doctor's shoulders.

The Doctor still held an arm around Jamie, and now gently placed his other hand on his shoulder.

"You're going to be alright," he promised. "It's just a bit worse for you because you were closer."

"Closer to what!?" Polly asked. "What was that!?"

"A solar flare," the Doctor said, taking care not to touch Jamie's burned skin. "We were floating through space; there must have been some sunspot activity on a nearby star, and the material from the flare reached us. The TARDIS must have drifted too near to the edge of that flare. Had we been struck head-on by that flare…" He trailed off for a moment, suppressing a shudder. "Well, let's just say we wouldn't be able to discuss it if that had happened. The Old Girl's shields certainly helped matters here." He glanced at the Scot, whose face and hands were now red from the stellar radiation exposure. Had it not been for the TARDIS deploying her shields at the last second, Jamie would have surely suffered far, far worse than the agonizing sunburn he was currently experiencing.

"Jamie saved our lives," Polly said. "We probably would have fallen too close to the doors—and fallen out."

"You can say that again; I'm glad you don't hold a grudge, mate!" Ben said. His tone suddenly became more serious as his eyesight was restored and he saw the extent of Jamie's condition. "Blimey, is he going to be alright?!"

Polly gasped as she, too, began to see the extent of Jamie's burns.

"He will be," the Doctor promised. "Jamie, come with me."

Gently, he continued to hold the Scot's shoulders, leading him out of the console room and through the maze corridors. Jamie still clutched the Doctor's shoulders, his vision not restored yet. But as they arrived at their destination, the Scot could feel something different in the air.

"Where are we?"

"It's the Zero Room," the Doctor said. "Its atmosphere induces healing in my people, but it should be able help you, as well, since your injuries are radiation-induced."

The mention of "his people" reminded Jamie of what Polly had told him earlier—about how she was certain that the Doctor was not human, but still trusted him.

And as Jamie's vision began to return, and he saw the genuine concern in the Doctor's eyes as he looked at him, he understood exactly what Polly had meant.

"Thank ye," he said.

The Doctor gave him a wan smile, looking after him as the Zero Room began to do its work. Jamie watched, surprised, as his hands began to revert back to normal; judging by how his face wasn't hurting as much, the same was probably happening to it, too.

And as he began to heal, he decided that he would stay on the TARDIS after all. Though he knew this meant leaving Scotland behind for good, there was no denying that he had found something very precious here.


	5. Kindred Spirits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 5: Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield.

Jamie was noticeably edgy as he wore his disguise. It's not that he minded attempting to sneak into a Victorian London masquerade ball uninvited; he just wish there could have been a way to wear more familiar clothing rather than a highly complicated suit—and trousers instead of a kilt.

At the moment, he was attempting to get the feel of the trousers by attempting to walk through the corridors of the TARDIS.

"Oh, Jamie!" a voice said. "Look at you!"

Victoria was watching him, already in her gown; a glittering mask was in her hand, which she was waiting until the last minute to wear.

"If you can just stop walking about like that, anyone would think you were from my time, not yours! That's the only thing ruining the disguise."

"I'm nae used to wearing clothes like these!" Jamie countered. "Och, how do people wear these?"

"You do realize you're not finished yet, right?" Victoria asked. "You still need the waistcoat, the tie, and the mask for your costume."

Jamie threw his hands up in frustration.

"If I survive the night, I will start believing in miracles," he declared.

"Oh, don't be so childish!" Victoria scolded, quickly fetching the waistcoat and tie. She slipped the coat on him, ignoring his grumpy expression. "When I'm through with you, you'll look like a proper gentleman!"

"I feel like a proper fool…" he muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Victoria shrugged it off and started to tie Jamie's tie, but about halfway through, she paused, suddenly looking sad. It took the Scot a moment to notice.

"Victoria?"

"I was just thinking…" she said, softly, with a faraway look in her eyes. "…About how I used to tie my father's ties for him in the mornings. And coming back to my time now, knowing that he's no longer here…"

"Oh," Jamie said, and he became startled as she started tearing up. He looked around, as though he was hoping the Doctor would suddenly turn up and help, but he quickly realized that he was on his own.

Gently he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Here now, Lassie. I know how ye feel."

Victoria looked up, surprised.

"Aye, it's true," he said. "My father and my brothers went to war with me." He hesitated as he dealt with his own painful memories. "I found oot later that they had died; if the Doctor hadn't found me, I would have been next."

"Oh, Jamie, I'm so sorry!" Victoria said. "I never imagined… I mean… Don't you feel sad—and miss them?"

"Aye, of course I miss them," Jamie said. "But I'm more angry than sad, I suppose. I asked the Doctor once to take me back in time to just before they were killed—so that I could save them."

"And?"

He shook his said.

"He looked at me all sad and said that it was impossible—something aboot a… pair of docks? I di'n understand it." He didn't like to dwell on it; that had been the cause of a highly unpleasant argument between him and the Doctor that, thankfully, they had been able to put behind them.

"I am sorry, Jamie," Victoria said again. "I don't understand why he wouldn't at least try."

"The Doctor has reasons for doing the things he does. Even if I don't like them," Jamie said. Unbidden to his mind came their most recent argument—when they had first met Victoria, and Jamie had found out that the Doctor had been manipulating him to get the Human Factor for the Daleks.

As strange as it seemed, Jamie had been more upset by that than by their previous argument regarding changing the past; the trust in the Doctor he had built up since the solar flare incident had shattered. It was being repaired as they traveled on, but the Scot was still wary of the Gallifreyan at times.

Jamie shook those thoughts out of his head. They were going to this masquerade ball to relax and have fun for once. After the Dalek incident and the fiasco on Telos, the Doctor was desperate to cheer them up.

"Let's try to enjoy ourselves tonight, eh?" the Scot said. "That is, if I can move in these clothes…"

Victoria did smile at that.

"I think you'll be just fine."

She handed him his mask, and the two of them headed to the console room—and stopped in their tracks.

The Doctor was waiting for them, clad in a bright burgundy suit, red cape, and a gigantic red, plumed hat. A glossy mask, in a matching shade of red, covered the upper half of his face.

"Do you think it's too much?" he asked, seeing the looks on their faces.

They didn't reply; they were both giggling far too much. But the Doctor didn't mind; it was a relief and a joy to see them laugh again.


	6. Trust Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 6: Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield, and the Second Doctor, references the previous piece.

Jamie continued to clutch at the rocky slope. He had lost all track of time, and his arms were hurting; he had been hanging on to the side of the slope since he and Victoria had attempted to escape from their captors by climbing down the slope. The worst part of it was that they were on their own; upon their escape, they had searched for the Doctor, only to find out that he had apparently allied himself with their captors. Whether or not he had been aware of the fact that they had been captured, Jamie didn't know. All he knew was that he could no longer count on the Doctor.

And that was what hurt the most.

Victoria had been nervous about trying to make their escape down the slope, but had been willing to try after Jamie tied a safety line between them with a rope he had found. It had been fortunate that he had done so, for it had saved her life; Victoria had slipped and was now suspended in midair; the rope wrapped around her waist supported her as Jamie gripped the slope in desperation.

Gravity was working against him, pulling at his end of the rope. He couldn't move; he knew that if he let go with even one hand, they would both fall as a result. He didn't have the strength to hold on with one hand.

He looked down, past his friend. A river ran below them, and even though Jamie knew it was likely that they would survive the fall into the water, their luck would end there—neither he nor Victoria knew how to swim.

"Jamie!" Victoria called up to him. "Jamie, you have to try to climb!"

"I daren't!" he replied, through gritted teeth.

"Oh, this is all my fault…" she said. "Jamie, you should just use your knife and cut the rope—at least you'll probably find a way out!"

"No!" the Scot exclaimed. "I'm nae letting ye fall!"

"But I don't want to be the reason for you falling, too!" Victoria cried.

There was a shout from above them, and the two looked up to see the Doctor, staring down at them in utter shock. He vanished for a moment, but then returned with a rope and threw an end to them. Victoria sobbed in relief, but then looked on in horror as Jamie refused to take the rope.

"Jamie, what are you waiting for!?" she exclaimed.

The Scot clutched obstinately at the cliffside; the images of the Doctor advising the man who had ordered him and Victoria locked up returned to his mind.

"I'm nae taking any chances!" he declared.

"Jamie!"

The Doctor's voice was laced with an audible pain, but the Scot was determined not to let it affect him.

"Why are ye so surprised!?" he snapped back, glaring up at him. "Did ye think we would nae see you working with them!? Do ye even know what they were going to do to us!? They were going to put us through all sorts of testing and experiments—just because we were from what they considered to be the past. But ye probably knew that, didn't ye?! What were ye doing with them—giving them ideas!? Or were ye going to run everything like ye did with the Daleks!?"

"Jamie, please—"

"I even gave ye another chance!" Jamie cried, blinking back tears now. "After the Dalek Test! I thought I'd owed ye that much, after e'erything ye'd done for me! And then ye turn right around and abandon me and Victoria without a second thought!"

Victoria was crying now, and Jamie was close to it, too. After all the lessons the Doctor had taught him—reading, writing, history, and science—and after all the adventures, the idea that the Doctor had only been keeping him around as something to eventually cast aside at his convenience was more than the Scot could take.

Jamie shut his eyes and looked away, refusing to break down in front of him.

"Leave us here," he said.

He said nothing else after that, but after a moment, he heard Victoria gasp and suddenly felt a familiar hand on his arm. Jamie opened his eyes, glaring as he saw that the Doctor had secured the rope to a tree on top of the cliff and had climbed down himself. But there was a deep hurt in his alien eyes—and a deep worry, as well. It was the same worry that Jamie had seen before on the occasions he had been in trouble—the same worry that had caused Jamie to initially think that he had actually meant something to this otherworldly man. And he still wanted to believe that was true—oh, how he wanted to believe!

"You may have lost your faith in me," the Doctor said, somehow managing to keep his voice steady. "But I will not allow you or Victoria to lose your lives, as well."

"Why are ye doing this…?" Jamie asked. "What are ye trying to gain from us?!"

" _Gain…_?!" the Doctor repeated, his emotions beginning to get the better of him.

"Aye," the Scot shot back.

"Well, since you asked, you might as well know that I had been trying to gain your freedom," the Doctor said. "Pretend to work with them long enough so that I could set you free at the opportune moment. I never expected that you'd find your own way out—or accuse me of betrayal!"

"Och, there ye go with words again!" Jamie said. "I'd have been more inclined to believe ye now had it not been for the Daleks. What will the next time be? What fate will ye next abandon me to before ye find it convenient to rescue me!?"

"I will never abandon you to any fate!" the Doctor vowed. "I didn't want to work with those barbarians!"

"Why did ye, then!?"

"To rescue the both of you!" the Doctor insisted again. "There may come a time when I'll have to do that again—and I apologize for that in advance! But abandoning you or Victoria is something that will never happen!"

Jamie just glared at him again, wanting to believe him. Despite himself, his expression began to soften the longer he looked into the Doctor's eyes. Recollections of the many kindnesses the otherworldly man had shown him floated across the Scot's consciousness—hours and hours of lessons, when he clearly had better things to do with his time… patiently tending to his injuries, whenever he received them… and even the times when they just did nothing but have fun; the memory of the masquerade ball they had attended with Victoria was fresh in his mind, as well as the words that Jamie had told Victoria that same evening—

_"The Doctor has reasons for doing the things he does. Even if I don't like them."_

Jamie looked back at the Doctor again, realizing that his were not the eyes of one attempting to deceive, but the eyes of one who truly was hurting.

"How do ye intend to get us oot of this?"

He heard Victoria sigh in relief again. The Doctor managed a wan smile, pleased that Jamie was willing to give him a chance.

"Well, things are a little complicated," the Doctor said. "Trying to bring the both of you with me as I climb would be a bit impossible. I could try climbing up and pull the both of you up as soon as I make it there, but…"

"But…?"

"…They'll be looking for me," the Doctor said. "Wondering where I went; I expect they'll have picked up my trail right now and are on their way here. And if they found me with you, we'd be right back where we started—with you two locked up and doubting me once again. And although I'm certain that your trust in me couldn't be any more broken, it's not an option I wish to choose. So…"

He glanced down at the river below them, and Jamie trembled.

"No…!" he exclaimed.

"We can't swim!" Victoria cried.

"I know that…" the Doctor said. "Just… just trust me one last time. Please. I won't let either of you drown."

Jamie glanced nervously at the water, and then back up at the top of the cliff. He could hear the voices of the scientists they had escaped from—they were, indeed, drawing near. A voice in the back of his mind cautioned him—maybe, the Doctor was really working with them, and this was part of one of the psychological experiments…

He looked at the Doctor once more, seeing the plea in his eyes. Again, the memories of the lessons, adventures, and good times they had shared returned to him.

One of these Doctors was real, and the other was a fake persona. And Jamie had to decide which one was the real Doctor—the manipulative mastermind, or the kind and caring wanderer. Or were they both real—two sides of the same coin? And if they were both real… what did that mean for Jamie and Victoria?

The Doctor cast a worried glance at the clifftop again before appealing to the Scot once more.

"One last chance?"

And, slowly, the Scot nodded. He let go of the cliffside and clung to the Doctor's shoulder; the Doctor wrapped his free arm around him and, just as the scientists peered at them from the top of the cliff, he let go of the rope.

In midair, he used his now-free hand to grab Victoria's flailing arm and pulled her close just as they hit the water. With both of his arms securing his companions, the Doctor was relying only on his legs to help him swim to the riverbank. The current seemed to grow stronger with every passing second, and the Doctor knew that he couldn't waste a single moment. With one final burst of energy, he shoved the both of them onto dry land.

But when he tried to pull himself onto the riverbank, he had realized that expended too much energy by getting his companions to safety first. He clawed fruitlessly at the bank as the current began to pull him away…

…Only for Jamie to grab him by the wrist. Victoria held on to the rope that was still tied between the two of them in order to help Jamie brace himself against the pull of the current. Slowly, they pulled the Doctor out of the water; they collapsed along the bank out of sheer exhaustion.

"Thank you both…" the Doctor said, hardly daring to believe the narrow escape. "And I'm… sorry. Sorry for all of this."

"No."

The Doctor turned to Jamie in surprise, startled to see tears in his eyes again. It hadn't quite registered yet for the Gallifreyan that he had very nearly sacrificed himself to save their lives, but the realization had struck the Scot like a slap across the face.

No one would risk his life for another if he did not truly care.

" _I'm_ sorry, Doctor."

Victoria smiled, happy and relieved to see that Jamie was no longer angry. And the Doctor hugged the both of them close, just happy with the knowledge that they were safe. Having Jamie's faith in him restored was a bonus.

And as for Jamie, those horrible moments on the cliffside had been the last time he ever doubted the Doctor. He wasn't sure he would ever fully understand the alien's ways, but he did understand one thing—that, despite the uncertainties that existed in all of time and space, he could always count on the Doctor.


	7. Intelligence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 7: Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot.

It had taken Jamie a long time to warm up to Zoe. Her high intelligence made him very self-conscious as to his own lack of a formal education; watching her speed through book after book in the TARDIS library when it took him a week to finish just one did not help to endear her to him. At times, he felt he had been better off with Ben; Ben certainly didn't act like the know-it-all that Zoe did at times; nor had he been prideful of being smarter like Zoe. Zoe considered herself smarter than the Doctor, even—and Jamie thought that was going too far.

He learned to tolerate her, though. Her knowledge did help the three of them get out of predicaments time and again. And Jamie always could take comfort in the fact that there were things he could do that Zoe couldn't; he had been secretly pleased when, after finally repairing the old set of bagpipes that he had found several months ago and demonstrating them, Zoe confessed that she couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. Maybe it wasn't practical, but he would be ready for the day when they landed on a planet that relied on music for communication.

As they moved past their differences, Jamie had to admit that he was beginning to consider her as a friend. And it was then that she also seemed to trust him, as well; she was learning to get a grip on her emotions, having been raised to think without them. It had certainly been a surprise when, one morning, over breakfast, she confessed something to him.

"Sometimes, I wish I was more like you, Jamie."

"Eh!?"

"I look at you, and I think about how wonderful it must be to be able to go through life and enjoy little things like you're able to. I can't do that."

"I'm nae sure I understand what ye mean," Jamie said.

"Well… look at the Doctor."

"Aye. What aboot him?"

"How do you see him?"

"With my eyes, of course!"

"No, no… I mean… What do you see when you look at him? How would you describe him to someone who had never met him?"

"Well…" Jamie shrugged. "I'd tell them that the Doctor is kind and generous… and caring and loving… and amusing… A li'l bit strange at times, maybe, and perhaps a bit mysterious… Brave—can't forget that. And loyal. And intelligent."

"That's exactly what I mean," Zoe said, with a wan smile.

"…What did ye mean?"

"If somebody asks you to describe the Doctor, you describe him by thinking with your emotions. He means so much to you, and it's clear in your words that you see him as a wonderful person."

"Well, he is."

"But you left out lots of things, didn't you?"

"Like what?"

"Why don't you ask me how I'd describe the Doctor? I'll tell you."

"Fine; how would ye describe him?"

"He is a humanoid being of obviously alien origins," she said, matter-of-factly. "Though physical similar to _Homo sapiens_ , there are marked differences; most obvious of these is the binary vascular system that was evident in the x-rays that were taken of him on the Wheel. Both his body temperature and pulse rate are significantly lower than that of _Homo sapiens_ ; I would say, based on that evidence, his species may very well be poikilothermic. His eyes reveal the presence of tapetum lucidum, which suggests he has exemplary night vision. He also exhibits a greater physical stamina than _Homo sapiens_. The scans taken of his brain indicate that he is of a highly intelligent species; his grasp of human language and culture suggests impressive adaptability. …Shall I continue?"

Jamie just stared at her, and then sighed.

"Sometimes, I forget that he is nae human…"

"That's exactly what I mean. You don't question that he isn't human. You don't question how he is or what makes him tick. You care about each other very much, and that's what's first for you. But all I see are facts and figures; and I want to be able to look at him and think, _that's someone I care about_ rather than _that's a humanoid alien_. And that's why I wish I was more like you. You're so _happy_ here with him."

"And ye want to be happy, too?"

She nodded.

"Do you think you can teach me?"

"…I can try," Jamie said, not sure how he could possibly teach someone to be happy. "And I'm sure the Doctor can help, too.

"I'd appreciate that very much. Thank you."

Her piece said, she got up from the table, taking her now-empty dishes away. Jamie continued to sit, mulling over his thoughts. When Zoe had first joined them and he had been feeling upset at his lower intelligence, the Doctor had mentioned something to him about different kinds of intelligence, and how Jamie was gifted with something he had called "emotional intelligence." Jamie hadn't understood then.

But he was certainly beginning to understand now.


	8. Wanderers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 8: Jamie McCrimmon, Zoe Heriot, and the Second Doctor.

"Don't wander off" had always been one of the Doctor's rules (along with "Don't touch the TARDIS console"), and it was one that Jamie had always had trouble following—he had always been wide-eyed at the places they had seen on their travels, and the longing to explore often drove him to break the rule. Each and every time, the Doctor would find him, gently chide him, and lead him back to the TARDIS, knowing all too well that it would happen again. And again. And again.

Jamie's wanderings only increased after Zoe joined them; Zoe's independent streak made her an enabler to Jamie's wanderings. And now, instead of chasing after one wandering companion, the Doctor found himself chasing after two.

It was on one such occasion that Jamie and Zoe were wandering through a marsh. The Doctor had been investigating some ancient ruins that had been built by people who had once lived in the marsh. After realizing that the people had disappeared without a trace, the Doctor had ushered Jamie and Zoe inside the TARDIS and had instructed them to stay there while he continued his observations.

But the marsh had been calling to the Scot, reminding him of the moors of his homeland. And with Zoe giving him a gentle nudge, the Scot found himself leading the way through the marsh.

"Och, can ye just feel it the air?" he grinned. "The place is so alive!"

Zoe looked around.

"Well, I'm assuming you mean the animals and the plants; their typical of the species you would find in boggy areas."

Jamie rolled his eyes before remembering that Zoe was still learning to think with her emotions.

"Aye, well… I was talking aboot this place making ye feel alive. I grew up on the moors ye know; spent my childhood chasing my brothers all over the mire…"

"It seems rather dangerous," Zoe said. "Especially since the people here did vanish without a trace. I wonder if it was some kind of creature that started hunting them."

"There are no beasties like that in the Highland moors," Jamie said, with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"But you're forgetting one key fact," Zoe said. "This is not Scotland. This isn't even Earth. There's no telling what could be out here. We should tread cautiously."

"Aye, I'll be careful," Jamie said, though he didn't seem to care too much at all; he was in his element.

They wandered around for some time; Zoe went over some of the scientific names of the plants as they passed them by. Jamie listened with some interest, trying to learn them, but deciding to enjoy the walk instead.

It was then that they heard a strange sound up ahead.

"What was that!?" Zoe asked.

Jamie frowned, running up ahead. A mist was getting thicker, making it difficult to see ahead, but the sound had sounded like something making its way through the foliage up ahead of them.

"Some animal, I would think…"

"Jamie, I think we ought to—"

The Scot yelled out in alarm, cutting her off. Something had grabbed ahold of his upper arm; a creature, covered with moss and pond weeds, emerged from the mist.

"Zoe, run!" he yelled.

She had been debating on how to attack the creature with her knowledge of judo; however, before she make a move, the creature grabbed her arm, as well. They struggled and flailed and angrily attempted to break free as the creature, whatever it was, began to force them back the way they had come.

"Let us go, ye mad beastie!" Jamie snarled, trying to reach for his knife.

"You're in enough trouble already without trying to insult me on top of that!" a familiar voice retorted.

Jamie and Zoe stopped in their tracks in shock; this caused the "creature" to crash into them, causing them all to fall over.

" _Doctor_?!" they asked, as they sat up.

"Well, who else did you think it was!?"

Jamie and Zoe looked to each other, and then at the plant-covered alien.

"Have ye… have ye looked in a mirror lately?" Jamie inquired.

"Within the last few minutes?" Zoe added.

"Why…?" the Doctor asked, feeling his face and then pulling a wad of moss and pond weeds from it. "Oh dear."

"Ye cannae blame us for thinking ye were a beastie, now can ye?"

"Well… Don't change the subject! I told the both of you to remain on board the TARDIS, didn't I!?"

"We were just…" Zoe began. "We wanted to see…"

"It was my idea, Doctor. It reminded me so much of the moors; I had to see it!" Jamie explained.

"Well, then, perhaps I should just take you back to your precious moors, shouldn't I!?"

Jamie's mouth fell open, horrified; the Doctor had never raised his voice to him in such a manner before—there was an audible sting to his voice, and it was still there as he turned to face Zoe.

"And you! You're the one who keeps encouraging him!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor…"

But he didn't reply; he got to his feet, pulling the both of them up with him, and led them back to the TARDIS. He left them both in the console room as he headed down the corridor—presumably to clean himself up.

Jamie and Zoe waited in silence.

"I am sorry, Jamie," Zoe said, after a while. "The Doctor's right; I shouldn't have encouraged you."

But Jamie still didn't speak.

"Jamie?"

"He's going to send me back…" the Scot said, staring blankly at the wall of the console room.

"Oh, Jamie…"

"There was a time when I wanted to go back, and he didn't want me to go," Jamie said, shaking his head at the irony. "And now I want to stay, and he wants to send me back."

"I'm sure if you tell him that you're sorry and that you want to stay—"

"But it's nae just this time, Zoe," Jamie said. "I've done this before—countless times. He put up with my wanderings all this time. I guess this time, it was finally too much—I'd tried him too many times. And if I try to apologize for this time, he's only going to bring up all those other times."

Zoe didn't know what to say. She knew her place aboard the TARDIS was no longer guaranteed, either, but she knew that Jamie had a much greater emotional attachment to this place—and to the Doctor—than she did.

Footsteps down the corridor alerted them to the Doctor's return; Jamie glanced at him briefly, seeing him return in a bathrobe and slippers, before turning to face the wall again.

"That's much better," he sighed. "Never did care to be covered in plant matter…"

"Does that happen often?" Zoe asked, casually, taking note that he was in a much more pleasant mood.

"Thankfully, no. Now let's get out of here, shall we?"

The Doctor pulled a lever on the console, and the TARDIS took off. Jamie cringed at the once-beloved sound of the TARDIS dematerializing; what once stood for further travels into the unknown was now warning him that he would soon have to leave.

He glanced at the column on the console, rising and falling, and felt a twinge in his heart. He clutched at the Doctor's arm, looking to him with pleading eyes.

"Please don't send me back," he begged. "I want to stay here—with ye."

The Doctor looked to Jamie in surprise.

"I'd certainly prefer it if you did stay."

And now Jamie looked to him in surprise.

"But I thought ye were going to send me back to Scotland," he said. "Because I went out in the marsh here."

"You thought…? Oh, Jamie…"

"Ye ne'er spoke to me like that before," the Scot said. "All the other times I wandered off…"

"I spoke in anger, Jamie, and I apologize for that. It is quite frustrating that you don't seem to _listen_ to me when I implore you not to wander off! You, too, Zoe!" he added, as he gave her a glance. "And this situation was a highly dangerous one; I happened to find the creature that was responsible for why the natives fled—a large, amphibious carnivore. And the both of you had been heading straight for it! I only just managed to get away…" He showed them his ankle, which he had wrapped in bandages.

"Oh, Doctor!" Zoe exclaimed.

Jamie's throat tightened; he hadn't even noticed that the Doctor had been injured or limping when he had found them.

"That beastie had pulled ye into the water…" he realized. "That's why ye were covered in that stuff."

"Yes," the Doctor admitted. "And when I saw the both of you walking right towards the same danger… Well… You understand, don't you?"

"Aye," Jamie nodded.

"I don't," Zoe said. "You could have just explained the situation to us instead of acting emotional."

"You'll learn soon enough, Zoe. And perhaps you'll even start acting the same way. And if either of you _ever_ wander off again…" The Doctor glanced sternly at the both of them; Jamie looked legitimately concerned, while Zoe looked perplexed. But then, the Doctor's expression softened, and he drew his two companions close to him. "…I'll drag the both of you right back here until the next time."

Jamie and Zoe managed a smile and hugged him back. Somehow, all three of them knew there _would_ be a next time. But, hopefully, it wouldn't be for a while.


	9. Loyaulte Me Lie, Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 9: Jamie McCrimmon and Peri Brown; takes place during "The Two Doctors" (meaning Season 6B for Jamie from here on out for the rest of the vignettes).

The Doctor—well, the man who claimed to be the Doctor, at any rate—was still lying motionless in his trance. Astral projection, he called it. Jamie didn't understand any of it—nor did he understand how this strange man could be the same Doctor he knew and loved.

On the other hand… could it be true? He didn't like to remember the incident with Ben's camera all those years ago, but both Ben and Polly had insisted that they had seen the Doctor change before their eyes—and Ben had shown him the picture of the man the Doctor had looked like—and the Doctor himself had confirmed it was him.

But there had been no resemblance between the Doctor in the photograph and the Doctor Jamie knew; nor was there any resemblance to this Doctor here. And yet… when he had woken up after collapsing in his little hidey-hole and panicked, this man's reassuring voice had made him feel safe and secure for the first time since the Sontaran invasion—the same way his Doctor's words always made him feel safe in times of trouble.

Jamie tilted his head slightly as he observed this familiar stranger, part of him wanting to believe—that this man was the Doctor, and that what he said about Jamie's Doctor being still alive was true.

Jamie glanced to the side as the girl in the room—Peri, as she had introduced herself—cleared her throat.

"If you're wondering whether that's really him, it is," she said. "He changes—he called it 'regenerating' when I saw him do it."

"Ye saw him change?"

She nodded, and Jamie looked back at her Doctor before thinking about the Doctor he knew.

"And ye're sure they're the same person?"

"Well… yes," she said. "I mean… He looks and acts different from the Doctor I first met; I'll bet he's different from yours."

"Aye, that he is…"

"But, deep down, he's the same person," Peri assured him. She smiled. "He was talking about you an awful lot just a little while ago. And once, some time ago, he got a bit confused and called me by your name. You must've meant a lot to him."

"…Then why am I nae traveling with ye?" Jamie asked. "What happened to me? Did he e'er say?"

"No," she confessed.

The Scot looked visibly upset by this.

"What happened to us?" he asked, to no one in particular. "Maybe we had a fight or someone forced us to turn against each other… What if…?"

"Hey!" Peri said. "Stop saying things like that!"

"But it'd take a whole lot for me to leave the Doctor!" Jamie insisted. "Or for him to leave me!"

"Well, I'm sure it's just…"

"Ye don't understand!" Jamie said. "I'm all the Doctor has—my Doctor, I mean. Do ye know what the Time Lords have done to him?"

Peri shook her head.

"When they caught up with him, they took me and another girl who was traveling with him away—and made us forget aboot him. And then they branded him as a criminal. And then they made him work for them; he managed to convince them to let me have my memories back and travel with him again, but he still has to do whate'er they tell him, and he hates it—he hates it so much! The Time Lords are the only reason he and I came here to this horrible place—and ye see what's happened now!"

"That's terrible!" Peri said.

"Aye!" Jamie agreed. "And that's why I made a promise to myself—that since I am the only one my Doctor has, I would stand by him no matter what the other Time Lords put us through. I'm nae clever to help him verra much, so I have sworn my loyalty to him. We've been traveling together for years now, and the Time Lords have done their verra best to try to convince me to leave him—putting us through difficult missions in the hopes that I'll just say it's too much for me and leave."

"But here you are," Peri said.

"But I'm nae here with _him_ ," Jamie said, indicating her Doctor. "And that worries me. We depend on each other; he knows I'm always there for him when he needs me. So, where am I?"

"Don't worry; I'm sure everything turned out fine," Peri assured him. "I'm sure that whatever happened, you parted ways on very good terms. Whenever he talks about you, it's always with love."

Jamie didn't look convinced.

"Don't you see, Jamie?" Peri went on. "You were there for him at a time when he needed you the most. That's the best thing you could've done for him. And I think there's a part of him that will always be grateful for you for that."

Jamie sighed, still full of questions, but nodded.

"Thank ye," he said. "And… thank ye, for looking after him now."

Peri smiled, but any reply she had planned was preempted by the Doctor's sudden cry—

"Jamie!"

Instinct kicked in for the Scot; the Doctor was calling for him—his Doctor, calling through Peri's Doctor—and, as per his promise, he would help. Jamie was by this Doctor's side, with Peri right beside him, as he awakened.

And it was that moment that Jamie realized that this had to be the Doctor—for he was the only one to whom Jamie could be so loyal towards.


	10. Loyaulte Me Lie, Part II

For Jamie, the ensuing hours after Peri's Doctor awoke, announcing that he knew exactly where his Doctor was, had been among the most trying of his life. They had come so close to rescuing his Doctor— _so close_! They had seen each other— _talked_ to each other—the both of them relieved just to see each other alive.

And then everything had descended into madness. Shockeye had turned up with Peri, and Dastari and Chessene had carted off Jamie's Doctor somewhere. By the time Peri's Doctor had rescued her, and they and Jamie had caught up with Jamie's Doctor again, it was too late—Dastari had turned Jamie's Doctor into a hybrid creature—part Gallifreyan, part Androgum. And now his Doctor was heading into Seville with Shockeye.

"He has to be pretending," Jamie said, desperate to reassure himself as he, Peri, and Peri's Doctor chased after them. "He's trying to make Shockeye think he's acting like one of those beasties so he can make his escape!"

"Jamie…" Peri's Doctor said. "He's… I'm… not pretending. The effects… I'm feeling them, too."

Jamie felt a knot form in his stomach.

"But… you're sure it's reversible, right?" Peri asked.

"Dastari did say something about a second stabilizing operation," her Doctor said. "If we can find him—me—before Dastari does, it should be."

"I should ne'er have left him," Jamie said, silently cursing himself. "And I ne'er will again."

"Admirable sentiments," Peri's Doctor said. "You're just as loyal as I remember you. But if Dastari gets there first and performs that second operation…"

"I'll ne'er leave him," Jamie repeated, firmly.

"Jamie, you don't understand," the Doctor said. "That is Androgum DNA that has been blended with our own; your life could be in danger—both of your lives! You saw what Shockeye had been ready to do to Peri!"

He glanced at her before looking back to Jamie; the American girl suppressed a slight shudder at the memory.

"Ye would ne'er do a thing like that—nae my Doctor, and nae ye," Jamie said.

"Our very nature is being changed; there is no telling what we will or will not do!" the Doctor replied. "Now you both listen to me. If Dastari gets to my other self first, I want you two to get back to the TARDIS as quickly as you can; use the emergency protocol, and she'll take you both home."

Peri looked shocked, but Jamie scowled.

"There's still a part of him that's the same," the Scot said. "It's like Peri said about ye—ye're still him. Even though they've turned him into a beastie, he'll nae attack me, because he's still him."

Peri's Doctor sighed in exasperation.

"You never did listen to me, did you?"

"You ne'er did expect me to leave ye, eh?"

"I'm staying, too," Peri declared.

The Doctor stared at her before looking back to Jamie.

"Now see what you're doing?" he said. "You're a bad influence on her! She used to be at least slightly sensible before you started putting ideas in her head!"

Peri rolled her eyes, and Jamie frowned.

"I know what ye're trying to do," he said. "Ye're trying to make us upset so ye can push us away in the hopes that we'll leave. I can't speak for Peri, but I can tell ye that won't work on me."

"Well, I can speak for myself, and I'm staying," the American declared.

Jamie looked away, focusing on the task ahead. He had to find his Doctor before Dastari did. Because even though he would still stay by his side if the transformation became permanent, he couldn't deny that he preferred things the way they were.

Regardless of what happened, one thing was clear—the Doctor needed him now more than ever. And he would most certainly be there for him.

Meanwhile, Peri's Doctor just glanced at the Scot as the three of them continued to run. It had been so long ago for him, and, due to the converging timestreams of him and his past self, his memories were a bit foggy. And part of him had been wondering why his past self had been so willing to put up with such a headstrong, tenacious companion for years and years.

He didn't wonder anymore.


	11. Loyaulte Me Lie, Part III

Jamie never once regretted his vows of loyalty that he had made to the Doctor. He had told Peri's Doctor that once he had continued questioning why the Scot wouldn't listen to reason as they closed in on Jamie's Doctor and Shockeye.

Ironically enough, that had been more than Jamie had told his own Doctor; Jamie had suspected that his Doctor would have protested had he found out, whether due to the impracticalities of a human swearing fealty to a Time Lord, due to the fact that Jamie had more honor than to sink so low as to swear fealty to one who was branded as a criminal by his own people, or due to the fact that the Doctor did not need a vow from him at all and merely enjoyed his company, no strings attached—or, perhaps, a combination of all three reasons.

Indeed, Peri's Doctor had been surprised by this revelation.

"In retrospect, that explains a lot of things," he had mused.

Jamie had wondered exactly what he had meant by that, but Peri's Doctor didn't elaborate. And there hadn't been time to ask him, either; they had finally caught up with Jamie's Doctor. Shockeye had left, leaving chaos in his wake; while Peri and her Doctor attempted damage control, Jamie had tended to his Doctor—joyful as he saw him change back to a full Gallifreyan before his eyes.

The joy had been short-lived, alas; Dastari and the Androgums had taken them captive again, and once they were back at the hacienda, Jamie had been handed over to Shockeye, much to the horror of both Doctors.

The next several minutes were spent in a haze of pain. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Jamie took solace with one thought, and one thought alone—

 _My Doctor is back to normal. And he's going to be fine. That's all that matters_ …

Jamie had kept his oath. And if this was the price he had to pay for his loyalty to the Doctor, he was willing to pay it. The Doctor had shown him years of kindness, and Jamie had done his best to reciprocate.

The knowledge that he had helped his Doctor one last time was enough comfort for the Scot now. Even now, he did not regret his vow; the only thing he regretted was that he wouldn't be able to keep his Doctor company any longer.

He slipped further into unconsciousness, but instead of everything going darker, the Scot was aware of a voice calling him back to awareness; the voice was calling his name.

_Doctor…?_

It wasn't his Doctor; it was Peri's Doctor, but, regardless, the Gallifreyan wasn't about to let Jamie's loyalty lead him to such a fate.

By the time Jamie fully awakened, he was alone; something must have caused Peri's Doctor to hastily leave. His search for him, however, led Jamie back to his Doctor, who was with Peri; Chessene had been menacing them both, but ended up falling into the trap that Peri's Doctor had set for her.

Peri's Doctor had caught up with them at that point, and Jamie noticed with alarm that he had been wounded somehow. But the Doctor's confident smile reassured Jamie that he was going to be fine—just as his Doctor is going to be fine.

Still, it didn't stop Peri's Doctor from giving Jamie a subtle, " _Keep an eye on the old gentleman, will you?_ "

Jamie knew exactly what he meant. And, of course, he had every intention of continuing to fulfill his vow. By remaining loyal to his Doctor, he would, in a sense, be helping Peri's Doctor. By being loyal to one, he was loyal to both—to all of them, however many there were out there.

It was nice to be back in the TARDIS again, after everything. Jamie suppressed a smile as his Doctor immediately began to rant about Peri's Doctor.

"—The most ridiculous fashion sense I've ever seen! He's worse than that insufferable dandy—I didn't even think that was possible!"

Jamie winced as his leg pained him; whatever Shockeye had done to him would probably still hurt for a while longer. Still, he didn't complain; he grabbed the edge of the console to support himself and patiently listened to his Doctor. He was just unspeakably grateful to see him alive—and as himself.

"—Worse than that scarf, worse than that cricket outfit—"

"How many of ye are there?" Jamie interrupted.

"How many?" the Doctor repeated. "Well… I haven't met them all (thankfully), but our laws dictate that a Time Lord can regenerate up to twelve times."

"So there're thirteen of ye running around?" the Scot asked, his eyes wide.

"Well… possibly," the Doctor said. "Regenerations can be given and taken. There's no telling how many of me there are, but there are quite a few. And the ones I've seen show very little promise; the only one I have any hope for is the fellow in the fez…"

"If ye hate them so much… why change at all?"

"It's not a choice, Jamie; I'd be more than willing to stay like this…" The Doctor trailed off, noticing that the Scot was favoring one leg while supporting himself against the console. "Jamie?"

"Aye?"

"What happened to your leg?"

"Och, it's nothing," Jamie insisted. "Shockeye was prodding it with some contraption. He used it on my shoulder, too, but it's mainly the leg that still hurts. I expect it'll lessen on its own—"

He was cut off as the Doctor gently helped him towards the nearest room with a chair; he then retrieved a medical kit. Jamie protested at first, but then fell silent.

"It does nae hurt that much," he insisted, as the Doctor placed an ice pack on the sore spot.

"Nevertheless… You should have told me sooner."

"Aye, well; ye'd had a bad time of it, too."

"And that's another thing!" the Doctor chided. "You should have known better than to approach me when I was still an Androgum—even if I was unconscious! There's no telling what could have happened had I woken up before changing back!"

"I had to make sure ye were alright!" Jamie retorted.

"And it's not that I don't appreciate it, but you took a _very_ foolish chance!"

"I'm going to tell ye the same thing I told Peri's Doctor—even if ye hadn't changed back, I knew ye wouldn't have attacked me!"

"Oh, you _knew_ , did you!?" the Doctor repeated, exasperated.

"Aye!"

There was such conviction in the Scot's voice that the Gallifreyan was quite surprised.

"Oh, very well…" the Doctor said, going back to treating the Scot's hurt leg.

Jamie just gave a satisfied smile. They hadn't been words for the Doctor's benefit alone; Jamie had truly meant what he said. For he had learned that whenever you pledge loyalty to the Doctor, it was, inevitably, returned.

* * *


	12. Loyaulte Me Lie, Part IV

Even though the fiasco with the Androgums was behind them, it still seemed that it would be coming back to haunt Jamie and the Doctor. They were back on Gallifrey, the Doctor giving the mission report to the Celestial Intervention Agency. Jamie stuck around to listen, but he took note that the Time Lords that the Doctor was reporting to didn't seem surprised to hear about the Androgums at all; the Scot took note that they seemed to be exchanging knowing glances when the Doctor spoke of them, and Jamie was even further surprised to see them cast glances at him.

This intimidated the Scot; he was half-wondering if the Time Lords somehow blamed him for all of this.

Jamie now backed off, deciding to return to his usual standby of observing the goings-on around the Capitol while the Doctor gave his mission reports.

"James Robert McCrimmon?"

The Scot gave a start, blinking in surprise to see a woman addressing him. She was dressed differently from the Time Lords that Jamie usually saw in the Capitol, and there was a noticeable sadness in her eyes as she regarded him—quite different from the looks of disgust or annoyance that he usually received.

"Aye…?" he asked, nervous.

"The High Council wishes to speak to you," she said.

Jamie blinked.

"Are ye sure it's me they want to speak to—not the Doctor?"

"They wish to speak to you," she insisted, with a nod. "Come with me, please."

She led him away just as the Doctor had finished presenting his mission report; the Doctor stared after them for a moment in surprise before following, silently, some distance behind so that he would not be observed by them.

"I don't understand," he heard Jamie say. "Why would the High Council want to speak to me?" He froze in horror. "They're nae going to wipe my memories again, are they? I don't want to leave the Doctor!"

"The High Council needs your help," the woman said. "They will elaborate." She gestured to a set of double doors. "In there."

Slowly, Jamie wandered through the doors, which closed and locked behind him. nervously, he glanced around at the assembled Time Lords of the High Council, as well as an audience of other Time Lords in the room—each and every one of them staring at him.

Outside, the Doctor now reached the doors, not at all surprised to find them locked, but frustrated all the same. He glanced at the woman; their gazes met in an unspoken conversation, but the Doctor's concern soon returned to the welfare of his companion.

"They will not harm him," she said. "What I said was true; they need his help."

"Yes, and I can only imagine the sort of thing the High Council would need him for!" the Doctor said. "They don't want to dirty their hands, so they turn to the two of us to do whatever it is they need—including running afoul of Androgums!"

"Have you not wondered why they are giving a mission to him, and only him? He has no access to a TARDIS without you."

The Doctor paused, looking to the doors, and then to the woman.

"Why? Why do they need him?"

The woman shut her eyes, sadness evident in her expression.

"Because they believe that humans are easily corruptible," she said. "And that avarice, selfishness, and treachery run deep in their primitive veins."

" _What_ …?"

Not waiting for an answer, the Doctor silently pulled a drinking glass from one of his pockets and placed it to the doors so that he could listen in.

"I see that habit of yours hasn't changed…" she said, and fell silent as he waved for quiet.

The Doctor could hear Jamie questioning why he had been brought before the Time Lords.

"I still don't know why I'm here," he was saying. "If ye wait for a few minutes, I'm sure the Doctor will—"

"We do not wish for the Doctor to be privy to this conversation," one of the Time Lords said. Jamie recognized him immediately as the one who had spoken to him and Zoe the first time they had been to Gallifrey—the one who had so coldly announced that they were going to be sent home.

"Aye, and why's that?"

"Because this directly concerns his fate."

Outside, the Doctor's face furrowed into a deep frown.

"What's going on?" Jamie asked, a sinking feeling growing in his gut.

"The Androgums are demanding recompense for the deaths of Chessene and Shockeye," the Time Lord said. "They are demanding that we hand the Doctor over to them."

"What!? Aye, so that's why ye weren't surprised when the Doctor mentioned them… they'd already been complaining."

"Exactly," the Time Lord said. "And our situation is a complicated one."

"I donnae understand…"

"As Time Lords, our stance of strict neutrality must remain in place; the Doctor is a criminal and an annoyance, but, even so, it would be against our policy to hand him over in such a manner."

"Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that!" Jamie said.

"However, we do not wish to antagonize the Androgums; the last thing we would want is for them to declare war on us. While they don't have the resources to defeat us, it would be unnecessary, and a bother."

"I still can't see what all this has to do with me," Jamie said.

" _We_ cannot hand the Doctor over to the Androgums," the Time Lord said. "But you, as a human, are not bound by our laws."

The Doctor stared at the doors in speechless fury; he glanced at the woman, who still had her head bowed, before putting his ear back to the glass. It turned out that trying to listen through the glass wasn't necessary at the moment; a string of loud curses issued from within the chamber, and the Doctor couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Good old Jamie…" he murmured, as he listened to the Scot's fury.

"—How dare ye even _think_ that I would betray the Doctor!? Just because all of ye hate him, it does nae mean that no one cares for him! _I_ care for him!"

"We have noticed and observed your loyalty to the Doctor over all of these years," the Time Lord spokesperson said. "That is also why we are appealing to you to complete this task. The Doctor trusts you; if you suggested going to a rendezvous point where the Androgums waited, he would not suspect you."

"I will nae betray him!" Jamie screamed. He glared at the members of the High Council, who didn't seem dissuaded at all.

"Naturally," the Time Lord spokesperson said. "You would be compensated for your services if you did decide to accept."

"I don't accept!" Jamie shot back. "And there's nothing you could give me—no amount of riches or power—that could ever get me to betray the Doctor!"

"We intuited that," the spokesperson replied. "We also know that using forms of hypnosis or mind control would be useless—and impractical. Nor can we threaten you. Your decision must be a willing, conscious one in order for our laws to be upheld."

"Then why are we still here discussing it?" Jamie asked, angrily.

"Because what we are offering you is more valuable to you than riches or power." The Time Lord held up a small vial. "We are offering you this."

"What use would I have for a l'il bottle? I can get plenty of good drinks on Earth!"

"This is not a drink," he said. "This is medicine."

"Medicine? But I'm nae ill!"

"Not for you," the Time Lord said, projecting an image in front of Scot. "For her."

Jamie stared, wide-eyed, at the image of the woman that the Time Lord had projected, his anger rapidly fading as it was replaced by an old, familiar sadness.

"My mother…?" he asked, quietly. "But, she… she died, years and years ago, when I was just a lad…"

"…From an illness for which no cure existed in your time," the Time Lord finished. He held up the vial. "This cure. Though this course of action is well outside our non-interference policy, the High Council has decided that it is an adequate payment for you delivering the Doctor to the Androgums. Do this task for us, and we will send you back in time with this cure in order to allow you to save your mother's life. We will concentrate our energies on healing the paradox you will create. And, if you so desire, we will erase your memoires of the Doctor again, so that you will not have to live with the guilt, should you feel any. And should the Doctor survive imprisonment by the Androgums, as we're sure he will, we will gladly erase his memories of you, so that you need not fear retribution from him."

The Doctor was shaken by what he was hearing. The Time Lords were trying to tempt Jamie—his loyal Jamie—into betraying him.

"Ye're asking me choose between the Doctor and my mother?" the Scot asked, the pain evident in his voice.

"Not just your mother," the Time Lord said, with a satisfied smile as he realized they had finally found Jamie's weakness. "The actions of one changed event affect others; your father and brothers would be spared from their deaths due to ending up in different places during the war."

"My entire family…?"

"And all we would ask of you would be to convince the Doctor to go to one particular place."

As Jamie stood in silence, the Doctor stared at the doors, his hearts breaking further with each passing second. Poor Jamie was in the most agonizing situation; the Scot had begged him multiple times in the past to help him save his family. The Doctor had explained that the ensuing paradoxes would be damaging—and a single Time Lord would not be able to repair that damage. And now, the High Council was offering Jamie that very thing he had been wishing for—but with a high price.

"Oh, Jamie…" he said, softly.

"Avarice, selfishness, and treachery," the woman quoted.

"You can't possibly blame him if he accepts!" the Doctor insisted. "You, of all people… …The _both_ of us know that we can't hold it against him!"

"And yet, the mere thought of the Scot's betrayal is destroying you from within," she said.

"…I don't deny that. We've been through too much together for it not to do so. He refused to abandon me even after I'd turned into an Androgum…"

He fell silent as he heard the Time Lord spokesperson speak again, and he put his ear to the glass once more.

"We await your answer. Do you accept the terms of our agreement?"

Inside, Jamie looked once again at the projection of his mother. This was the first time he had seen her face since losing her.

"I can't."

A murmur swept through the assembled Time Lords, who clearly had not been expecting that as Jamie's answer.

"…You would choose the Doctor over your own kinfolk?!" one of the Council members asked.

Jamie shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look upon his mother's image any longer. He had made a vow, after all, that he would never abandon the Doctor—the man who, only minutes after meeting him, had explained to Ben that " _a Highlander's word is his bond_."

"Aye," he said, his voice on the verge of cracking. "And don't ye e'er ask me to betray him again!"

He turned his back on the Council and headed for the doors; outside, the Doctor put the glass back in his pocket and backed away from the doors as they unlocked, allowing Jamie to exit the chamber.

"Ah, there you are!" the Doctor exclaimed, as though he was completely unaware of what had just transpired. "I was told the High Council wanted to see you; what did they want? Were they cross-checking my facts on the latest mission report?"

Jamie stared at him, his expression unreadable as he shook his head. Slowly, though, a pained expression crossed his face, and he looked away from him, much to the Doctor's concern.

"Jamie?"

"I… I nearly did something unforgivable," the Scot said, wiping away a stray tear. "They… they wanted me to…" He trailed off, unable to even say it to the Doctor's face.

The Doctor decided to spare him from the agony; he drew Jamie into a hug.

"I know, Jamie; I heard everything. I was just trying to get your mind off of it."

"Ye heard…?" He trailed off again, clinging to the Doctor's shoulders as he had done numerous times in his younger years. "I'm sorry…"

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for," the Doctor insisted. "That was a very cruel situation that the Time Lords put you into, and I am sorry you had to endure such a thing—and for my sake, at that."

"I could nae abandon ye to the Androgums," Jamie said, shaking his head. "Not even for my mother and the rest of my family."

The Doctor cleared his throat a couple of times before speaking again.

"That… means a lot to me, Jamie. Thank you." The words were inadequate, as far as the Doctor was concerned, but he was at a loss for what else to say. "Now, I do believe that the Celestial Intervention Agency is going to wait for quite a while before asking us to go on another mission after what just happened. I say we take advantage of that and travel like we used to."

Jamie looked up, finally managing a smile as he nodded.

The woman approached them now; for once, she was smiling, as well.

"Look after each other," she instructed, before leaving the two of them.

"Aye, we will…" Jamie said, turning back to the Doctor. "She was the first one who di'n act like we were the scum of the universe. Doctor, who was she?"

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Never mind," he said, at last. "We have other things to concern ourselves with at the moment—the entirety of space and time is, temporarily, open to us once more, and I say we seize every moment of it that we can!"

That was something that Jamie could readily agree to, and as the two of them headed back to the TARDIS, the Doctor kept a hand on the Scot's shoulder, both of his hearts filled with gratitude.


	13. Full Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 13: Jamie McCrimmon and Alexander McLaren, done on request.

Thinking fast had always been one of Jamie's standbys whenever he found himself in trouble—the problem was, his solutions tended to be a tad predictable, which often led to his efforts being wasted.

As he used his knife to parry against the sword blows aimed at him, matching each with one of his own, he found himself resorting to quick thinking once again.

 _One, two, three, four_ —

It was on the fourth strike, however, that his fortune failed him; the swordsman knocked his knife out of his hand. The piper bit back a cry of pain as the sword blade now pointed at his throat.

"Overconfident, as always," a voice chided him. "Ye need to learn—"

Jamie was in no mood to listen; he counterattacked.

He struck the swordsman's wrist with a fist; as the swordsman attempted to regain his poise, Jamie launched into a tackle, pinning the swordsman to the ground and knocking the blade away.

"I know what I'm doing," the piper said, with a triumphant grin. His victory was short-lived; the swordsman kneed him in the stomach, and then sent him flying as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Ye know less than ye think," the swordsman said, planting a boot on the piper's chest as he struggled to regain his senses. "Had this been real, ye'd nae have been shown mercy."

Jamie groaned and shook the cobwebs from his head.

"Och, come on now, Alexander; I'm just a piper. Ye cannae expect—"

"If ye're going to serve as my father's piper, I can expect ye to be able to defend him—to defend all of us," Alexander McLaren declared. "This is nae some laddies' game; this is war. And ye'll have to fight before it's through."

"I know…"

"Aye, then up ye get," Alexander said, using his sword to push Jamie's knife back towards him.

"…Ye're standing on me."

"Up ye get," Alexander repeated. "Ye think the enemy is going to take his boot of ye to let ye get up?"

"But I cannae do anything like this!"

Alexander's expression soften somewhat.

"I'm trying to teach ye to stay alive in battle, Jamie," he said. "Someday, ye may find yer life depending on being able to get oot of this. Not just ye—someone else's life may be at stake. Will ye leave them to their fate, simply because ye donnae know what to do?"

Jamie considered these words and then made his move; he tossed his knife upward. Alexander expected this and knocked it aside with the blade of his sword. But Jamie seized his chance as he did so; he kicked out at Alexander's other leg, knocking him off-balance just long enough for Jamie to gain enough leverage to knock him over. The piper sprang to his feet and grabbed both his knife and Alexander's sword, aiming them both at him.

Alexander kicked at him, trying to knock Jamie off-balance, but the piper sensed it was coming and dodged.

"Aye, that's the way," Alexander said, pleased. "Ye remember that for the rest of yer life."

Jamie nodded, handing Alexander back his sword as he got to his feet. As they began to spar again, the piper idly wondered if he ever would be in a situation as Alexander had described.

* * *

The chance eventually arrived—not in Culloden, as Jamie would have expected, but years and miles away, on a far-off space station. The piper accompanied someone else now—the very same Gallifreyan traveler, known as the Doctor, that he and Alexander had, at one point, taken hostage before they learned that he meant them no harm. Though the Doctor had succeeded in saving almost all of their little band, the Gallifreyan had been unable to save Alexander that fateful day. But with Alexander's father and sister safe, Jamie had been persuaded to join the Doctor on his travels.

Jamie was older and wiser at this point, having traveled with the Doctor for quite some time. But even after years of experience, one could never be prepared for a surprise attack—two alien creatures attacked them, and though their numbers had been equal, Gallifreyan and the Scot had been quickly overpowered by the element of surprise.

The Doctor's silver tongue had failed him; their foes simply would not listen to any explanations. And as one of them angrily threatened the Doctor with its claws, the other callously threw Jamie down, planting its foot on Jamie's chest.

And, for a brief moment, Jamie wasn't there—he was far away, back in Scotland, in the middle of the sparring lesson that Alexander had given him that day, so long ago.

His mind was on autopilot; Jamie hurled his knife up at the creature who had been threatening him. As Alexander had done, the creature effortlessly blocked it, but the lapse in concentration was all that Jamie had needed.

Kick. Kick again. Push. And gravity did the rest.

"CREAG AN TUIRE!"

Jamie could almost hear Alexander shouting the battle cry with him as he got to his feet. The other assailant lost his concentration long enough for the Doctor to gain the upper hand on it with a well-aimed Venusian aikido strike. The creatures hissed, and then retreated. Jamie recovered his knife as the Doctor exhaled in relief.

"Well done, Jamie!"

The Doctor was beaming from ear to ear. And Jamie smiled back—at him, and at the thought that somewhere, wherever he was, Alexander was smiling at him, too.

 _Told ye I knew what I was doing_ , he silently transmitted to his fellow Highlander.

Still grinning, Jamie followed the Doctor back to the TARDIS, grateful for the lessons he had learned from two truly amazing teachers.


	14. Family Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 14: Jamie McCrimmon and Susan Foreman

Jamie was curious as to why the Doctor hadn't wanted to accept this particular mission that the Celestial Intervention Agency had assigned to them. It seemed to be one of their easiest ones yet—travel to the year 2180 to see how far recovery from a foiled Dalek invasion had come.

And yet, the look on the Doctor's face clearly said that he would rather have arrived in the midst of a Dalek attack than to look over the aftermath. Still, he knew that he could not refuse, and, soon, he and Jamie had arrived.

Jamie soon noticed something else; this time, the Doctor had been quite obsessed over making sure that the TARDIS was well hidden.

"I donnae understand," Jamie said. "If the Daleks are defeated, why are ye going to such lengths to hide the TARDIS?"

"I have a very good reason for everything that I do!" the Doctor insisted. "And that's why that, this time, I hope you will listen to me when I tell you to stay in the TARDIS."

"Ye're nae taking me?"

"Out there? No. And now I need a solemn promise from you that you will not set foot outside the TARDIS."

"But, Doctor—"

" _Solemn promise_."

Jamie stared at the Doctor in confusion, not understanding. At last, though, he sighed and nodded.

"…Aye. Solemn promise, upon my honor as a Highlander."

The Doctor finally relaxed.

"Right. I'll be back as quickly as I can."

He left the TARDIS without another word, and Jamie distinctly heard him lock the doors from outside. The Scot shook his head, utterly puzzled. He didn't understand this at all; this seemed like the most mundane mission possible. What was out there that made it so terrifying for him?

For the next half hour, Jamie pulled a chair into the console room, along with one of the books from the TARDIS library, and began to read. It was then, as he continued to lose himself in the pages, that he heard the outer doors of the TARDIS unlock.

"Well," he said, standing up as the doors opened. "That di'n take too long…"

He trailed off; a dark-haired woman had entered the TARDIS, the key still clutched in her hand. She looked as surprised to see Jamie as he was to see her, but she soon got over her surprise.

"Hello," she said, with a smile.

Jamie nodded a hello, as well, and he stared in amazement as she walked towards the console, placing a hand on it.

"And hello to you, too."

The TARDIS let out a whirr in reply, causing the woman's smile to broaden further. And Jamie was more confused than ever as she turned back to him.

"I'm afraid I don't know you, though," she said, apologetically, as she extended her hand.

"I'm… Jamie," he stammered, shaking her hand.

"Susan," she introduced herself, in a tone that seemed to suggest that Jamie would be familiar with the name. When the Scot's response was a blank stare, she looked at him in surprise. "You mean he hasn't told you about me?"

"The Doctor, ye mean? No; he ne'er mentioned a lassie named Susan."

"Oh…"

"I'm guessing ye knew the Doctor pretty well, then?"

"I ought to," she said. "He's my grandfather."

Jamie blinked, and then stared at her.

"Aye, _ye're_ the granddaughter, then!"

"Then he _has_ mentioned me?"

"Aye! …Nae by name, but he's talked aboot ye! He said ye ran away with him from Gallifrey…" Jamie trailed off, suddenly remembering how, not too long ago, the Doctor had told him that he couldn't bear to face his granddaughter while he was a criminal forced to work for the Time Lords that he and Susan had fled from.

And now it suddenly became clear why the Doctor had not wanted to come here—he had wanted to avoid admitting this to her.

"I think ye should leave."

"Leave?" Susan asked. "But Grandfather is here to see me, isn't he? I should wait for him!"

Jamie winced, realizing he had just dug himself and the Doctor into an even deeper hole.

"He's… nae here to see ye."

"I see."

"I'm sorry."

Susan looked around the TARDIS for a moment, and her gaze fell upon one of the additions to the console—one of the instruments that the Time Lords had put in so that they could keep an eye on the Doctor during his missions, and call him back to Gallifrey when they needed him.

She looked to Jamie now, her eyes widening in understanding.

"They sent Grandfather here, didn't they? Our people?"

Jamie stared at her, blankly, trying to find an answer.

"He wouldn't do this out of charity; he can't stand them. We had been running from them for so long—he would never have gone back to Gallifrey on his own," Susan continued. "What happened?"

Jamie averted his gaze. It would be easy to lie to her, though whether or not he'd be believed was another matter. But this was the Doctor's granddaughter; she was asking out of genuine concern.

"He di'n want ye to know," he said, looking away. "The Time Lords caught him—they're making him work for them."

Susan looked back to the TARDIS console, as though asking for confirmation. The TARDIS did whirr out another reply

"But the Time Lords are letting you travel with him, aren't they?"

"Nae by choice," Jamie said. "At first, they took me away. The Doctor fought to get me back; I guess they realized he'd be more agreeable with me there with him. They hate me, though. They've tried so much to get me to leave… They say I'm just stupid primitive, and that the Doctor could be more efficient without me there to slow things down." He sighed. "If it were nae for the Doctor saying that they were wrong, I might have believed it."

Susan stared in amazement, shaking her head slightly.

"What?" Jamie asked.

"It's nothing," Susan said, thinking of how her grandfather had once regarded humans.

Jamie rubbed the back of his neck, not sure what else to say.

"I'm sorry…" he said. "He wanted ye to think he was still traveling aroond the universe, happy, like when ye were still with him."

Susan thought for a moment, looking around the TARDIS once more, and then looking back to Jamie.

"You're traveling with him, though," she said. "You're helping him enjoy his work. Without you, I'm sure he'd be just miserable. So, he really is happy, still traveling around the universe." She smiled. "Thank you."

Jamie considered this for a moment and nodded. It wasn't quite the way it had been before, but, he could not deny that they still enjoyed their travels, even on their missions. They were happy.

Susan took one last look around the familiar console room.

"I should probably leave," she said. "Grandfather might be returning soon, and… I guess we should avoid letting him know that I know."

"Aye; that'll solve a lot of problems," Jamie agreed. He paused. "Is there anything I can do for ye?"

Susan took his hand again.

"Stay with him," she said. "He needs someone to look after him… and someone to look after."

Jamie nodded.

"Aye. I can promise ye that."

Susan's smile widened, and she said something in a language that Jamie couldn't understand.

"Eh?"

"Oh, I'm sorry; I forgot that the TARDIS doesn't translate Gallifreyan… It means _you are family_."

The Scot looked surprised, but then grinned back.

"Thank ye."

"No, Jamie. Thank you."

And with a final goodbye, Susan left the TARDIS, locking the doors behind her.

Jamie wandered around the console room for a bit; Susan had put his role as the Doctor's companion into perspective. He had never considered himself that important; now, though, it seemed much clearer.

After a while, the doors opened again, and, this time, it was the Doctor who entered, hastily scribbling away in his 500-year-diary. He looked relieved to be back inside, and was even more relieved to see that Jamie was still there.

"Oh, good. You didn't wander off this time!"

"Aye, well, I did promise… this time."

"And if there's one thing I'm grateful for, it that you always keep your promises," the Doctor said.

"Ye're nae the only one…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Jamie insisted, smiling to himself.

The Doctor shrugged in dismissal and began to readjust the console, setting the course back to Gallifrey. And Jamie just observed in silence, idly wondering where their next mission would take them.


	15. Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend, part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 15: Jamie and the Master; this is meant to be Ainley!Master, taking place after "Trial of a Time Lord" from his perspective, and Season 6B from Jamie's perspective. Part 1 of 2; contains spoilers for The Dark Path novel, which is where Jamie canonically first met the Master.

Cold.

That was the only thing Jamie could remember—the bitter cold. As he opened his heavy eyelids, he stared, blankly, at the prison he was in. A metal door of bars blocked the way out of a cell that seemed to have been carved entirely out of ice.

But how did he get here? He hadn't been anywhere near ice; he and the Doctor had been on yet another mission, somewhere on volcanic planet that had been anything but cold…

Jamie's eyes widened.

"Doctor!?" he called.

Had he been captured by whatever-it-was that had captured Jamie? …What _had_ captured Jamie? His first guess would have been the Ice Warriors, but they couldn't have lasted five seconds in that volcanic planet; there had been geothermal vents hissing out piping hot steam all over the place.

Jamie winced as his memory began to return, piece by piece. The steam… there had been so much steam, the visibility of the place had been almost zero. And he and the Doctor had gotten separated.

The last thing Jamie could recall was hearing the Doctor calling for him, and trying to reply when something had struck him in the back of the neck. Everything had gone dark at that point.

The Scot shivered from the cold of his current surroundings, wondering miserably as to what fate had befallen the Doctor. Was he in a cell nearby?

Jamie called for him again, hoping that he was conscious and able to answer back. But there was no reply.

Despairing, the Scot curled up to try to keep himself as warm as possible—an impossible task, given that he had nothing suited for the cold. He had to hope that the Doctor was free; if so, then there was still hope for him. Jamie knew that the Doctor wouldn't rest until he found him… if he was alright.

A sudden movement outside made Jamie look up; he was unnerved to see a man observing him through the bars—a man dressed in black, looking at him with the coldest eyes that Jamie had ever seen.

"Are ye the one who brought m-me here?" the Scot asked, teeth chattering from the cold. "Who are ye!?"

The man didn't answer; he continued to glare at Jamie before leaving.

"Hey! Hey, I asked ye a question!"

The Scot fell silent as the man was soon out of earshot. But before Jamie could curl back up to try to fend against the cold, a second man now appeared outside the icy cell—a man with dark hair and a beard.

"Och, and who are ye?" Jamie asked. "Or are ye nae going to tell me, either?"

"I'm here to help you, since the Doctor will never find you here," the man said.

To Jaime's surprise, the man produced some sort of device that instantly picked open the lock on the cell door.

"What do ye mean, the Doctor will ne'er find me here? He would have found me eventually!"

The man scowled, looking around to make sure that there were no others around, and Jamie took the hint and fell silent. He followed the man through the icy corridors of the caverns for a while, part of him wondering if he should follow him; something about him seemed unpleasantly familiar.

"I think—"

The man raised a hand to silence him, and Jamie did not speak again until they were outside. It was snowing outside—and quite heavily; there was already a foot of it on the ground.

It wasn't until the man led Jamie to a pyramid-shaped structure that the Scot finally spoke up.

"Look," Jamie said, relieved to be shielded from the wind and snow by the pyramid. "I'm grateful to ye for getting me oot of there, but I need to find the Doctor! He might still be in there!"

"Oh, the Doctor is in there, alright. But you already saw him."

"The only one I saw other than ye was…" Jamie trailed off. "No. No, that couldn't be the Doctor! I know he changes and there're many of him, but… he wouldn't leave me in that cell!"

The bearded man turned to face Jamie again as he opened the door to the pyramid. Jamie gasped as he saw the interior and realized that it was a TARDIS. And as he continued to stare, something finally clicked in the Scot's mind.

"Ye're a Time Lord! Aye… I know who ye are! Ye're Koschei!"

"The Master," he corrected him.

"But… But the Doctor trapped ye in a black hole! …Ye got oot, and ye changed, didn't ye?"

"For a primitive of limited intelligence, you are very perceptive," the Master said, with mock praise.

Jamie drew his knife and held it out to protect himself.

"This is all a trick, isn't it? Ye're trying to make me believe that the Doctor locked me in there so that ye could save me and get me to trust ye!"

"And I see you're just as blindly loyal to the Doctor as always," the Master sighed. "But I can assure you that I am telling you the truth. That was the Doctor who locked you up in that cell… Though this version of him has cast aside that name for another—the Valeyard."

"That makes no sense!" Jamie exclaimed. "Why would this Doctor change his name and take me away from my Doctor!?"

"Because the Valeyard is the manifestation of the darkness within the Doctor—darkness that he has struggled to suppress throughout all of his regenerations. And it is because of taking in strays like yourself that he succeeded in suppressing the Valeyard for as long as he has. But the Valeyard is greedy; he wants to live, and he wants to live as long as he can. I predict that the Valeyard's intent was to lock you away and then convince your Doctor that you met a most unpleasant fate, just as he attempted to convince another version of the Doctor that he was responsible for the death of one Miss Peri Brown."

Jamie's eyes widened in dread.

"Peri's dead!?"

The Scot had felt immensely indebted to the American girl for her help during the Androgum fiasco; the idea of her being dead was too horrible to fathom.

"She is alive, though her Doctor was led to believe that she met an untimely end."

"And this… Valeyard wants to convince my Doctor that I'm dead, too?"

"Yes, though his reason for it is different. Peri's Doctor was on trial. Your Doctor, in the meantime, is living through one of the darkest periods in his life. If you were to be killed—and for your death to appear to be the fault of your Doctor—it would feed his inner darkness all the more, making the Valeyard stronger, and perhaps allowing him to exist even sooner."

Jamie stared at the Master in disbelief.

"Why should I believe ye aboot any of this?" he asked. "Ye could be trying to manipulate me like ye tried to do to Victoria! The Doctor is a good man—the best man I've e'er known!"

"Do you honestly believe that the Doctor is immune to corruption!?" the Master asked, frowning. "No one is."

"Aye, well, maybe ye're not," Jamie said. "But that does nae mean that the Doctor isn't! My Doctor is above any form of corruption."

"That's not what I heard from the Androgums."

Jamie's face paled.

"That… that was…"

"A corruption."

"A genetic experiment—that was nae his fault!"

"And I suppose, then, other than his brief experience as an Androgum, his hands are completely clean?"

Jamie opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't speak, and the Master gave him a satisfied smirk.

"But my Doctor isn't evil," Jamie insisted. "How can that… _thing_ be growing inside of him?"

"The right conditions and the right push are all it takes to feed the Valeyard," the Master said.

"Aye, well… I'll do my best to stop those things from happening," Jamie vowed. "Assuming that what ye're telling me is the truth!"

The Master sighed, clearly exasperated by the Scot.

"I would think that my saving you so that you can return to your precious Doctor would be reason enough for you to believe this. I have my own reasons for wanting the Valeyard's power suppressed; that is why I rescued you. For good or ill, we have the same goal in sight." He pressed a button on the console of his TARDIS and returned outside to where Jamie was still standing. "That signal will act as a beacon; your Doctor will track it down and find you here."

"And ye can bet that I'll be sure to tell the Doctor e'ery word of this."

"I'm afraid you can't do that; to prevent a paradox from occurring, it must be that the Doctor does not know of the Valeyard's existence until his sixth incarnation. Your Doctor is but the second. And since your species tends to have trouble keeping silent, I must ensure that you do not tell him."

"I have to tell him! This is too…" Jamie began to protest, but trailed off as the Master's gaze bore into him. "…Too… im… port… ant…"

The Scot's eyes rolled up as he fell backwards; the snow cushioned his fall; he would remember nothing of the incident. Satisfied, the Master retreated to his TARDIS, camouflaging it against the snow all around them. He did keep an eye on Jamie through a viewscreen, just in case that foolish old classmate of his ended up having poor timing and arrived late.

He found it difficult to hold contempt for the little human; the Scot was, at this moment, the one thing keeping this incarnation of Doctor from feeding the festering darkness that would, ultimately, give rise to the Valeyard. And yet, the Master was also envious of the human, though he would never admit to it; for there was no denying the fact that place in the Doctor's life that Jamie now held had once belonged to him.

That little human lying in the snow had replaced him.


	16. Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend, part II

Jamie had started to regain consciousness in the snow. He wanted nothing more than to sink back into the bliss of unconsciousness; the bitter cold had rendered him numb, and it must have been affecting his memory, for he couldn't remember how he got here at all. Try as he might, his mind was a complete blank—the only thing he could recall was a vague, hazy image of a pair of cold, cruel eyes, staring at him.

 _Cold_ …

That word echoed through his mind again. He struggled to move, but his limbs wouldn't respond.

"Jamie?" he heard a voice ask.

The Scot forced his eyelids to open; amidst the snow swirling all around him, he could just barely discern a figure in front of him, staring down at him with piercing eyes.

Jamie panicked, trying desperately to move; he wasn't even sure whether he was going to try to attack or retreat. In the end, it didn't matter; a pair of arms picked him up. The Scot attempted to struggle, but his efforts were in vain.

"Jamie, it's alright!" the voice said. "It's me! I'm going to get you out of here!"

Delirium clouded the piper's ability to place the voice. Snow still clouded his vision, but he could see a blue object growing closer and closer. The doors opened as they neared it, and the Scot ceased his struggles, falling back towards unconsciousness. As he slipped away further, he could still hear the familiar voice, growing more and more frantic by the moment.

"Jamie!? Jamie, you can't give up now!"

But the cold had stamped out all of the fight that usually dwelled within the otherwise stalwart Scot. He lapsed somewhere between the waking world and the unconscious one, and there he stayed, listening—focusing—on the voice that was still talking to him.

He wasn't sure for how long he remained in this state, but he hadn't fought back against the beckoning sleep—not until he heard the voice speak five words—

"Jamie… stay with me… _please_ …"

A promise… Jamie had made a promise… A promise not to leave the one person who needed him the most…

He had to wake up. It was important—so very important. He had to keep his word. He had to be there…

Jamie opened his eyes, unsure of how much time had passed. He found himself staring at a crackling fire in a hearth; he could also hear the hum of heaters from two vents that had pushed through the floor on either side of him. He wasn't as cold now, but Jamie momentarily panicked as he found that he still could not move his limbs; the panic soon passed as he realized that it was because he was wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets.

"Jamie?"

The Scot looked to the sound of the voice, blinking as he saw the familiar face; the same pair of eyes stared at him.

"Jamie… do you know me?"

"…Doctor!"

The Gallifreyan sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank goodness! Here, drink this…"

The Doctor held a mug out to Jamie, who blinked as he saw the purple liquid inside.

"What is that?"

"Soup—it's an old family recipe. The TARDIS actually helped me make it; she lit the fire for you—and set up the heating vents. I think she was just as worried about you as I was."

"Worried?"

The Doctor blinked, looking surprised.

"Oh, Jamie; I don't think you realize the scare you gave us! You went missing on that mission—vanished right off of that planet, and ended up on a completely different one; you were half-frozen be the time we reached you…"

"I di'n mean to worry ye," Jamie said.

"Oh, I know, I know…" the Doctor said. "I'm just glad I found you before it was too late…" He placed a hand on Jamie's forehead and sighed. "You're still cold… You need to drink the soup; it'll help."

Jamie glanced at the soup again, arching an eyebrow at it.

"Oh, for goodness's sake, Jamie—I'm not trying to poison you!"

The Scot did manage a chuckle at this and nodded. Gently, the Doctor held the mug of soup up to Jamie, who drank it. It wasn't bad at all—certainly different from any dish on Earth, and after his ordeal, it was exactly what Jamie needed.

The color soon returned to the Scot's face; satisfied, the Doctor placed the mug aside.

"Now, Jamie…" he said. "I don't know what happened, other than that someone or something took you away. Who did this to you? What happened?"

Jamie frowned, trying to think, but the gaps in his memory were still blank.

"I don't know…" he said, shaking his head. "I can't remember a thing… One minute, I was with ye, and the next minute I was in the snow! I can't remember! I can't—"

The Doctor hugged him close.

"It's alright," he insisted again, seeing that the Scot was on the verge of hysteria. "You're safe now."

"But there was something important I had to tell ye," Jamie exclaimed. "And I can't remember it! It's vital!"

"Jamie…"

"It's aboot ye—something aboot ye, and I cannae even remember what it is!"

"Jamie, listen to me," the Doctor said. "I'm sorry I ever asked you; please, don't put any pressure on yourself."

"But there's something I _need_ to tell ye!" Jamie insisted. "Isn't there anything ye can do to help me remember?"

The Doctor looked at him, and then gently placed his hands on the sides of Jamie's head.

"I _don't_ like the idea of trying to prod your memories," the Doctor insisted. "After everything your memories have been through at the hands of the Time Lords, and whoever was behind this now, I fear that I could end up making things worse."

"I trust ye."

"Of course you do," the Doctor sighed. "But I'm only going to try this for sixty seconds—no more."

"Aye."

The Doctor closed his eyes and concentrated, and Jamie did the same. Jumbled thoughts floated into his consciousness, but two things stood out—one was the knowledge that Jamie could not leave the Doctor. And the other was the image of that pair of cold eyes, staring at him from the darkness.

The Doctor removed his hands from Jamie's head, and the Scot gasped, looking up at him.

"Eyes," he said. "I remember a pair of eyes—the coldest, cruelest eyes… and darkness."

"Eyes…" the Doctor repeated. "Anything else?"

"Only that I cannae leave ye. There must be more—can't ye try that again?"

"No," the Doctor insisted. "I'm more concerned with whether or not you were hurt. You don't seem to have been, but I was hoping you'd remember for certain."

Jamie thought for a moment.

"I wasn't," he insisted. "This was aboot ye." He shut his eyes, looking away. "And I can't even remember something that important."

"Someone has gone through a lot of trouble to make sure that you forgot," the Doctor said. "But it isn't the first time, is it? You remembered me, after the Time Lords made you forget…"

"Ye helped."

"It was, ultimately, up to your mind to remember. And I have faith that you'll remember something as important as this soon enough. Getting back to your old self will be a step in the right direction, I'm sure…." The Doctor placed a hand on Jamie's forehead again and smiled. "And you're definitely on the way there."

The TARDIS whirred.

"And the Old Girl recommends another dosage of soup a little later to help you the rest of the way. So, don't worry about what you can't remember right now. I, for one, am grateful that you're back."

At last, Jamie conceded that the Doctor was right. Eyes and darkness didn't matter now; what mattered was that he was sticking to the necessary promise he had made—and would continue to keep.


	17. The Best of Intentions, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 17: Jamie McCrimmon, the First Doctor, and the Second Doctor; part 1 of another mini-arc.

It was a rare lazy day on board the TARDIS; the Celestial Intervention Agency had no missions for the Doctor at the moment, and the blue box was now floating aimlessly through space. The Doctor was taking a siesta in his room and Jamie was wandering around the console room.

He had long since lost track of how long he had been aboard the TARDIS; for him, the gap between losing his memories and regaining them had been minimal. It had been years and years; had it not been for the Doctor being able to keep track, Jamie wouldn't even have remembered his own birthday.

Jamie glanced up at the viewscreen, watching the stars as they traveled through the vast expanse of the galaxy. As he watched, though, the screen began to become hazy. Frowning, Jamie attempted to press a couple of buttons on the console to try to clear it up, but froze as he heard a stern voice chiding him.

"Just _what_ do you think you're doing, Young Man!?"

Jamie looked up, staring in awe at the white-haired man, who was now staring at him from the viewscreen. He had seen this man before, years ago, in that picture that Ben had shown him—the one that the sailor had said had been of the Doctor, before he had turned into Jamie's Doctor.

"How…?" he asked. "How are ye on the screen like that? Ye're from the past!"

"And you are not my future self!" the earlier Doctor said, observing Jamie with a searching gaze. "Do you mean to tell me that my future self lets you work the TARDIS console!?"

"No," Jamie admitted.

"Thank goodness for that! …Now just who are you?"

"Well, I'm…" Jamie trailed off, not sure he should give this Doctor knowledge of who he was when he was, clearly, a part of his future. "…Nobody important. I'm just… nobody."

The earlier Doctor arched an eyebrow.

"I should think that my future self would have better sense than to let an unimportant nobody near my TARDIS!"

Jamie wasn't sure whether he was being consoled or insulted, but before he could question him, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His Doctor had now arrived in the console room and looked up at the viewscreen.

"Ah, there you are!" the earlier Doctor said. "I have vital information for you."

"Yes, I intuited that; it would take something serious for you to cross into my timestream again," Jamie's Doctor said. "First Omega, then Borusa… Who is it this time?"

The earlier Doctor glanced at Jamie.

"Can he be trusted?"

"I would trust him with _all_ of our lives," Jamie's Doctor insisted, without hesitation.

"Very well, then. Our fellow Time Lords have found evidence of a hole in space and time; at the moment, our third self is doing his best to deal with it."

"Why does this concern me, then?" Jamie's Doctor asked.

"Because there are Yeti herding innocents into this hole—innocents who are never heard from again. They must be found, and the menace controlling the Yeti must be stopped before the hole gets any larger!"

"Yeti…" Jamie murmured. "Ye don't think…?"

"The Great Intelligence?" his Doctor finished for him. "It would seem so, wouldn't it? I knew we hadn't heard the last of it…"

Jamie stared at the floor. That had been his fault; if he hadn't interfered with the Doctor's plan to try to drain the Great Intelligence, it never would have escaped…

"You have the most experience in dealing with the Yeti," the earlier Doctor said. "And though our third self has your memories, the Time Lords feel that your presence would be helpful. And I must appeal to the both of you—do not let your petty disagreements stand in the way of this!"

Jamie's Doctor muttered something unintelligible.

"And you, Young Man!" the earlier Doctor said, glancing back at Jamie. "I am trusting you to look after both of my future selves! You must let no harm come to them! There is no telling what lies at the end of that space-time hole; should they be lost within it, they may be lost forever!"

"Aye; I'll look after them," Jamie promised. "It's the least I can do…" … _Seeing as how it's all my fault_ ….

"…He's very loyal for a 'nobody,' isn't he?" the earlier Doctor said, as he looked back at his future counterpart. "Where did you find him?"

Jamie's Doctor chuckled in reply.

"Well, I can't give away everything, now can I?"

"Ah, yes, very true…" the other Doctor mused. The viewscreen became hazy again, and his image soon vanished.

"You know, he seemed quite taken with you," Jamie's Doctor mused, as he worked the console. "My previous self took a very long time to warm up to humans. …I'm not proud to admit that he used to dismiss them as primitives like the rest of the Time Lords…"

"He'd be right in my case," Jamie said, glumly.

"Now, Jamie…"

"Och, don't try to make me feel better; we both know that the only reason the Great Intelligence is wandering aboot now and causing all of this trouble is because I was the one who let him escape!"

The Doctor grasped Jamie by the shoulders.

"Only because you thought you were trying to save my mind. And I can hardly blame you for that."

Jamie didn't look convinced.

"Now, then—chin up," the Doctor said. "Save that glum look for when you meet my third self. You'll need it." He winced, dreading the inevitable meeting with the old dandy. "Come to think of it, so will I…"

He threw the lever on the console, and the two of them stared at the rising and falling column in apprehension of what lay ahead.


	18. The Best of Intentions, part II

The TARDIS soon signaled that they were about to arrive at their destination. Jamie was noticeably nervous as they eventually came to a stop.

The Doctor opened the doors and blinked in surprise to see the familiar laboratory they had landed in.

"Why, this is UNIT Headquarters!" he exclaimed. He looked to the side, scoffing as he saw another, identical TARDIS next to his. "And I can see he's still working for them!" He looked back at Jamie. "You remember UNIT, of course?"

"Aye, of course I do—well, e'er since I got my memories back…"

"I just hope Lethbridge-Stewart is still in charge," the Doctor mused. "The last time I saw him, he was retiring, and was to leave behind a most pitiful successor; I wonder where in his timestream we are…"

He stepped outside and looked around, and suddenly realized that Jamie wasn't following him.

"Jamie?"

"I… I think maybe I ought to stay on board the TARDIS this time, Doctor."

"Well, that's a switch!" the Gallifreyan exclaimed. "But are you entirely certain you want to miss this?"

"Aye. After hearing ye talk aboot your third self, I guess I'm a li'l bit afraid of meeting him…"

"Now, Jamie…" the Doctor said. "Whether I like it or not, he is an extension of myself. My sixth self remembered you fondly, didn't he? I'm sure my third self would be pleased to see you. Who knows—you might even make him bearable to be around!"

But Jamie didn't budge, and the Doctor suddenly frowned.

"That's not what this is about at all, is it?" he asked.

Jamie looked at him, nervously, and the Doctor remembered—with regret—the words he had spoken to the Scot in the anger of the Great Intelligence's previous escape—

" _You're just as bad! I told you to leave everything to me! Now you've gone and ruined everything!_ "

The Doctor sighed, realizing that Jamie's memories being restored meant that he also got back all of the bad memories, as well.

"I won't have any of that!" the Gallifreyan insisted. "You made a promise to my past self; I have always said that you Highlanders are bound by your words!"

"I promised him that I would nae let any harm come to ye," Jamie corrected him. "And staying here seems to be the best way to ensure that."

"That's for me to decide!" the Doctor said, striding back inside the TARDIS and attempting to pull Jamie out by the arm.

The Scot resisted as the Doctor drew him outside, and he attempted to retreat back inside the TARDIS's interior, much to the Doctor's frustration.

"Really, Jamie—this is most childish of you!" he said, as he pulled him across the laboratory, heading for the doors.

"I'm just saving ye the trouble of dealing with the great mess I'm bound to create!" the Scot retorted.

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" the Doctor said, still trying to pull Jamie out of the laboratory as the Scot clutched at one of the doors. "The Yeti are wandering around out there, and I'm playing tug-of-war with you!?"

"No one's stopping ye from going oot there—"

"Excuse me…" a third voice said.

Jamie let go of the lab door in shock as he noticed a brown-haired woman enter the corridor. As a result, he and the Doctor fell to the corridor floor as she watched them, eyebrows arched in surprise.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all," the Doctor insisted, as he helped Jamie to his feet. "Now, let's see…. I seem to remember you from somewhere… Ah, yes—we met in the Tomb of Rassilon!"

The woman blinked in surprise.

"I beg your pardon? I don't believe we've met at all."

The Doctor's eyes widened in realization; it hadn't happened for her yet!

"My apologies; I seem to have been mistaken." He quickly turned back to Jamie. "But this does mean that Lethbridge-Stewart _is_ still in charge! I must find him! And, Jamie… If you go back in the TARDIS, I'll be going in after you."

Ignoring the Scot's protests, the Doctor dashed down the corridor.

"…The TARDIS?" the woman asked. "Are you both friends of the Doctor?"

"…That _was_ the Doctor," Jamie said.

"I'm afraid that's not possible; I've seen the Doctor. He looks nothing like him!"

"Aye, well… your Doctor is different than mine. There's more than one, ye know?"

"I'm afraid I don't know," the woman said. "But I would certainly like to hear more about this." She extended her hand to him. "Sarah Jane Smith—reporter."

"Jamie McCrimmon—piper."

"Well, Jamie, why don't we go into the laboratory, and you can tell me about how there's more than one Doctor?"

Before Jamie could say anything, she had already gone inside the lab—and stood staring at the sight of two TARDISes side by side.

"I told ye there was more than one," Jamie said, seeing what she was staring at.

"But, that's incredible!" she said. "How did he manage this? How did he change?"

"Well, my Doctor does nae know how he's going to change. Your Doctor would be able to tell ye."

"I'll certainly have a word with him when he comes back!"

Jamie felt a rush of guilt again.

"How is he dealing with all the trouble oot there?" he asked. "The Yeti, and the hole in time?"

"And the Great Intelligence?" Sarah Jane sighed. "Not very well, I'm afraid. There are only a few Yeti, but they're incredibly strong. Anyone who tries to get near them ends up getting thrown into the hole. The Doctor was saying that there was a way to deactivate them, but…"

"Aye, there is!" Jamie said. "Ye just need to take that metal sphere oot of their chests!"

"You sound like you've dealt with them before," the reporter observed.

"Aye; that's why my Doctor and are here to help," the piper replied. "Only… I donnae think I should do much."

"Whyever not?"

"It's my fault the Yeti and the Intelligence are here," Jamie admitted.

"Oh, is that why you two were arguing?" Sarah Jane asked. "Now, I'm no expert, but it sounded like your Doctor didn't want you to feel so guilty."

"I know, I… I'm just afraid that I might end up doing something that will make things worse," the Scot said, not sure why he was admitting all of this to a woman he had only just met. "The Great Intelligence wanted to drain the Doctor's mind… to hurt him…"

"You know what that means, then, don't you?" Sarah Jane asked.

Jamie shook his head.

"It means," she said, gently. "That the Doctor needs you—both of them. They need both of us to help them." She sighed. "And now I'm worried about my Doctor; I think we need to find him right away."

"Aye, where is he?"

"He drove out to try to lure the Yeti away from the hole," she said. "That way, UNIT could deal with them without worrying about falling in."

Sarah Jane exited out of the laboratory, and paused, looking back at Jamie.

"Well, are you coming?"

Jamie hesitated.

"But the Doctor said…"

"Your Doctor said that you weren't to go back inside the TARDIS," Sarah Jane reminded him. "And you're not. Technically, you're looking for him."

She gave him a knowing look, and Jamie finally grinned. And, soon, the two companions were well on their way in search of Sarah Jane's Doctor.


	19. The Best of Intentions, part III

Jamie and Sarah Jane had headed to the UNIT motor pool just as a tall, white-haired man arrived in a yellow car. He had a harried expression on his face, glancing behind him.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane exclaimed.

Jamie could only stare as the man glanced at them.

" _That's_ the Doctor?!" he exclaimed.

"I regret to inform you that the not all of the Yeti were fooled into following me away from the hole. One of them stood guard while the others engaged in the pursuit; I only just managed to elude them…"

Sarah Jane's Doctor trailed off as he finally took notice of Jamie.

"Jehoshaphat…!" he said, in amazement. "Jamie!?"

Despite himself, Jamie managed a smile as Sarah Jane's Doctor got out of the car and firmly clasped his hand in his, nothing at all like the insufferable dandy that his Doctor had described him as.

"Absolutely wonderful to see you again," the Doctor said. "I only wish that the circumstances could have been more pleasant."

"Aye, I know what ye mean," Jamie said. He blinked, taking note of the somewhat sad, wistful look in this Doctor's eyes. "Doctor?"

The Doctor briefly looked away, and Jamie realized the reason for this reaction; as with Peri's Doctor, Jamie wasn't with him anymore. And the wounds of their inevitable parting would, no doubt, be fresher for this Doctor.

The Doctor sighed, and managed a wan smile.

"It truly is wonderful to see you," he insisted again. "But I'm afraid this isn't the time for reminiscing. The four Yeti who were following me are on their way here."

"That's what you planned, isn't it?" Sarah Jane asked.

"I had planned to lead them into Benton's ambush," the Doctor said. "Unfortunately, they weren't ready!"

"Oh, dear…" Sarah Jane said.

"I don't suppose the Brigadier is ready for an ambush here?"

"I don't know," she confessed.

Jamie cleared his throat.

"My Doctor was looking for him," he said. "But Sarah Jane and I left before we found out if he succeeded or not."

"We have to lure the Yeti back to the ambush site if the Brigadier isn't prepared for them here…" The Doctor trailed off as he realized what Jamie had said. " _He's_ here, too?"

Jamie gave a timid nod, wondering why his Doctor and Sarah Jane's Doctor hated each other so much.

"Your first self sent my Doctor and me here to help ye," he explained. "He thought that since we had more experience with the Yeti, we'd be able to help…"

"…Yes, I suppose that's the only way you could have gotten here…" the Doctor said, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Very well, then; you're going to help—right now."

"Aye; what do ye want me to do?"

The Doctor gestured to the yellow car.

"I need you to drive Bessie."

"Eh!?"

"Part of my conundrum is that I have to focus on navigating, avoiding the Yeti, and avoiding other obstacles while driving," the Doctor said. "If I have someone doing the driving while I navigate…"

"I could drive," Sarah Jane offered.

"Actually, I shall be requiring your assistance in another matter," the Doctor said. "You'll have to explain to my past self where Jamie and I went; he'll find it much more difficult to lose his temper if you're there. And then I need you to lead the Brigadier to join Benton at the ambush site; I'll give you the coordinates once you find him. Judging by how hard-wearing these robot Yeti are, we're going to need all the help UNIT can provide." He handed her a walkie-talkie. "Can I count on you?"

Sarah Jane responded with a look.

"Do you even have to ask?" she said, with a smile.

"Quite right," the Doctor said, smiling back. "See you in a while."

Sarah Jane nodded and headed back towards the main building, and the Doctor now turned to Jamie, who was sitting in Bessie's driver-side seat.

"Doctor?" he asked, sounding somewhat nervous.

"Yes?" the Doctor replied, standing on Bessie's running board.

"Ye have nae forgotten I'm from the 18th century?"

"How could I ever forget?"

"…I've ne'er driven a car before."

The Doctor turned to him with a smile.

"Well, you have to learn sometime—and I may as well be the one to teach you. But there's one condition."

"What?"

"…My past self can never know about this."

And now, for the first time since hearing about the Great Intelligence's return, Jamie was grinning from ear to ear.


	20. The Best of Intentions, part IV

Jamie had to admit that it was quite a thrill—driving Bessie down the open road. And the Doctor seemed to be impressed with his driving skills.

"You're a natural," he said, as he kept an eye out for the Yeti.

"Does this mean that ye'll try to convince my Doctor to try letting me pilot the TARDIS?" Jamie asked.

"Jamie, I can't convince your Doctor to do _anything_ ," he replied. "We don't exactly see eye-to-eye."

"…But ye're both the same person!"

"And we've taken 'being your own worst critic' to an art form," the Doctor said. He paused as he looked into Bessie's mirror and noticed the four Yeti. "Now, Jamie, we're going to have to head to the ambush site."

Jamie looked at the mirror, and then at the fork in the road ahead.

"Left!" the Doctor ordered.

Behind them, a Yeti bellowed, startling Jamie, and he accidentally pulled Bessie's wheel to the right.

"The _other_ left, Jamie!"

"Sorry!"

He turned the wheel sharply to the left, going slightly off of the road. Bessie's tires squealed in protest, and the Doctor grabbed Jamie's shoulder with his free hand to keep from slipping off of the running board.

And, for a moment, as Jamie focused on luring the Yeti to follow them, he had completely forgotten that this wasn't his Doctor. This was _the_ Doctor—a different form, a different voice, and a different personality, yes… but still the same man—the same man who had counted on him.

That would never change, no matter how many times the Doctor did.

Jamie's gaze flickered to the mirror, and he yelped at how much faster the Yeti were now than the ones he remembered.

"They're still right behind us!" he exclaimed.

"So I see. Use the accelerator!"

Jamie nodded as the Doctor's grip on his shoulder tightened; as the Gallifreyan braced himself, the Scot put his foot down. Bessie pulled ahead, the gap distancing between them and the Yeti.

"Can I slow down now?"

"No!" the Doctor said. "We need as much of a gap between us and them so that the Brigadier has time to join Benton!" He raised the walkie-talkie to his mouth. "Sarah?"

"Yes, Doctor?" Sarah Jane's voice crackled over the device. "I've found the Brigadier; and I've also found—"

"Never mind that; I need you to have him meet us at these coordinates…"

Jamie listened as the Doctor relayed the instructions, using them to navigate as the gap between them and the Yeti increased further.

"…Right; we'll see you soon, then—and do hurry!" the Doctor said. He tossed the walkie-talkie into the back seat and now grabbed onto Bessie's frame with that hand. "Jamie, give her all she's got!"

Jamie slammed his foot down on the accelerator. Soon, they were out of sight of the Yeti.

"Will they still be able to follow us?" the Scot asked, yelling to make himself heard.

"Yes; they seem to be tracking me," the Doctor said. "This is obviously personal in regards to the Great Intelligence—and it has unfinished business with me."

Jamie felt a twinge of guilt again and fell silent as he continued to drive, thinking about it; but before he could bring it up, the Doctor instructed him to slow Bessie down. Soon, Jamie could see UNIT vehicles parked off of the road, and could just barely discern people hiding behind trees, bushes, large boulders, and whatever cover they could find.

The Doctor instructed him to park Bessie off to the side, near the other UNIT vehicles, as Benton emerged from his hiding place.

"Are you ready now?" the Doctor asked him.

"Yes; we…" He trailed off as he noticed Jamie. "…Jamie McCrimmon?!"

The Scot grinned as he climbed down from Bessie.

"Good to see ye again, Corporal."

"Sergeant," Benton said, as he shook the Scot's hand. "Never thought I'd see you again—not after how the Doctor said that you'd—"

"AHEM," the Doctor coughed.

The smile faded from Jamie's face as he looked at the sharp look on the Doctor's face—a sharp look mixed with hurt. Benton's face now was that of one who had just realized that he had said something he shouldn't have said.

"Time is relative, Benton; that is how it is possible for Jamie to be here now," the Gallifreyan said. "Events that have happened for me haven't happened for him yet."

"What events? What happened to me?" the Scot asked, looking to the Doctor. It had been a question that had been burning in his brain ever since meeting Peri's Doctor, and asking his Doctor would do no good, as it hadn't happened for him yet, either.

The Doctor looked to Jamie and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"The Laws of Time forbid me from telling you," he said. "But…"

He trailed off, going slightly wide-eyed as he looked at something behind Jamie. The Scot turned, expecting to see the Yeti. Instead, it was another UNIT vehicle—the Brigadier was at the wheel, with Sarah Jane right beside him.

And standing up in the back of the vehicle was Jamie's Doctor—rage etched into each of the lines on his face.


	21. The Best of Intentions, part V

Jamie let out an audible gulp of nervousness as he saw the look on his Doctor's face.

"I suggest you let me handle this," Sarah Jane's Doctor said.

"Are ye sure?"

"Oh, I'm certain he could possible loathe me any more than he already does," the taller Doctor replied, taking a step forward as Jamie's Doctor leaped down from the UNIT vehicle and ran up to him.

" _So_ ," the little Time Lord fumed. "It isn't enough that you had to use my recorder as part of your grand scheme to defeat Omega!? Now you've absconded with Jamie, as well!? Just what did you intend to do!?"

"Let me put your mind at ease by saying that I have no intentions of sacrificing him to the Great Intelligence," Sarah Jane's Doctor intoned.

Jamie's Doctor responded with a frustrated snarl.

"Let me tell you just one thing, you insufferable dandy—" he began.

"Doctor!" Jamie exclaimed.

The both of them looked to the Scot, and he looked to the both of them before turning to his Doctor.

"There is nae time for this!" he said. "The Yeti will be here soon—and even if they weren't… Why do ye hate him so much?" His expression softened. "Why do ye hate yourself so much?"

His Doctor looked to him, his expression softening, as well, though his glare became slightly sharper as he looked once again to his third counterpart.

Sarah Jane now spoke up.

"The Yeti!" she exclaimed. "I can see them!"

The Brigadier now indicated for everyone to follow Benton to the hiding place. He had been just as surprised as the Doctors themselves that Jamie had been able to stop what had seemed to be an inevitable fight.

Even now, as the Scot sat between both Doctors, the two counterparts were no longer glaring at each other. Not even Jo Grant, with all of her charm, had been able to stop the two of them from arguing. And yet, with one plea—one question—the Scot had been able to make them act civilly towards each other.

Then again, the Brigadier had to admit that even when he had first known the Doctor, when Jamie was traveling with him, the otherworldly man had always found time to listen to the piper, whom he clearly cared for very much; and the piper, in turn, looked up to the Doctor with the same amount of concern.

…Perhaps the piper's absence had been the reason for the Doctor's initial irritability upon changing. The taller Doctor had tried the Brigadier's patience multiple times—but even the simple mention of Jamie never failed to bring out his softer side.

And as for Jamie, the Scot seemed to take the quirks of both Doctors in stride; he certainly had far more patience for dealing with them than the Brigadier had.

…Where he found that inner strength from, the Brigadier would never know. But seeing how Jamie had brought peace to one impending disaster, he was certainly grateful for it.


	22. The Best of Intentions, part VI

It wasn't long before the Yetis arrived, and the battle went underway. The Brigadier had been prepared this time, after the previous encounter with Great Intelligence; he had developed a special clawed projectile in the event that the Yetis ever returned—one that would pierce the metal of the robots and pull the metal away to expose the circular control units within them—leaving the soldiers to unleash, upon the Brigadier's orders, five rounds rapid. Jamie found it very impressive indeed.

"That's clever!" Jamie complimented him.

"Glad you think so," the Brigadier said. "The Doctors don't seem to share your sentiment."

Both of the Doctors were looking at the barrage with disapproval. It wasn't enough to deactivate the Yetis, but with their control units exposed and being continuously struck, it was causing them to behave very erratically.

Eventually, one Yeti crashed into two others, knocking the control units out of their chest cavities. Spurred by this, the UNIT soldiers turned to the one that was still standing.

"No, the control units!" Jamie's Doctor ordered, as they began to roll back towards the deactivated Yetis.

Sarah Jane's Doctor merely aimed his Sonic Screwdriver—a much more advanced model that the one Jamie's Doctor had—at the fallen Yetis, damaging their circuitry further with the sound waves. The spheres stopped moving, realizing that it was a fruitless effort.

Jamie's Doctor glared at Sarah Jane's Doctor.

"Show-off!" he hissed.

"Don't even start…" the older Doctor ordered.

The fourth Yeti was now retreating, and the Brigadier was ordering half of the soldiers into the vehicles to engage in pursuit; he instructed Benton to see to it that the spheres were safely secured at UNIT HQ. Sarah Jane, though she had been more intrigued at the idea of joining the pursuit, found herself going back with Benton upon the request of her Doctor, who wanted her eyes and ears to ensure that things were done correctly.

Her Doctor then took over driving Bessie; Jamie's Doctor was with him, arguing all the way there. Jamie prudently decided to get a ride with the Brigadier, who took this opportunity to inquire about the younger Doctor.

"I can't understand what got into him," he said, as he drove. "When we first dealt with the Yeti, and then the Cybermen, he was considerably more amiable. The last time he was here, he was absolutely insufferable—and he hasn't changed that much this time. If it wasn't for you, he'd probably be even worse…"

Jamie sighed.

"Aye, I'll believe that…"

"What happened to him?" the Brigadier asked.

"A lot of things," Jamie said. "Things he did nae deserve."

"…This wouldn't have anything to do with his exile, would it?"

"Eh?" Jamie asked.

"He turned up here in a meteor shower with that new face," the Brigadier explained. "Claimed he was exiled by his own people—couldn't get that TARDIS of his to do anything until they finally gave him a new something-or-other after the Omega business."

"And he turned up here… without me?"

"Without you," the Brigadier confirmed.

Jamie suddenly looked furious.

"They lied!" he hissed.

"Come again?"

"He's working for his people—the Time Lords," Jamie said. "They're forcing him to work for them, and they said that if he does nae listen to them, they'll make him change and exile him. And they donnae like me very much—they keep telling him that if he stops traveling with me, they'll lift his sentence." He looked to the Brigadier. "But I do stop traveling with him—and they'll exile him and make him change anyway!?

"…It looks like it," the Brigadier sighed. "And that certainly explains his sour mood now…"

"It's nae fair…" the piper hissed. "I'm sure I did nae want to leave him…" He trailed off. "Did the Doctor e'er say why I stopped traveling with him?"

The Brigadier gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly, and that was all the answer that Jamie needed.

"Ye donnae have to tell me," Jamie sighed. "I can guess. The Doctor is hundreds of years old; my Doctor once said that Time Lords can live fore'er. But I'm only human. I saw the way the older Doctor looked at me—like my standing there was a miracle."

"You're not the first to seek immortality; you won't be the last," the Brigadier said. "I am sorry."

"The irony is that I donnae want immortality for myself," Jamie said. "I just want to be there for the Doctor."

"You're a good man, McCrimmon."

"It's something I must have picked up from the Doctor…Ye'll look after him while he's here, won't ye?"

"Can't turn down a fellow Scotsman's request, can I?"

Jamie grinned, but the smile was quickly wiped from his face as the Brigadier suddenly slammed the brakes of the UNIT vehicle and quickly gave orders for the others to do the same. Jamie soon saw why—the Yeti they had been tracking was now approaching the space-time hole, and a larger Yeti stood beside it.

This Yeti was noticeably different, besides the difference in height. While the regular robot Yetis had the same, metal spheres for control units that the Yetis in the past had, this larger Yeti had a control sphere that looked like a large, glass ball, completely open and exposed. Jamie wasn't entirely sure, but it looked as though there were little white things—like snowflakes—swirling around in the glass sphere.

The smaller Yeti now, suddenly, dropped to the ground; the impact caused its control sphere to dislodge. Even then, the metal sphere didn't try to rejoin the deactivated robot; instead, the glass sphere in the larger Yeti began to glow and swirl.

"Should we fire, Sir?" one of the UNIT soldiers asked.

"Not yet!" the Brigadier ordered. "We need to know exactly what we're up against first!"

"It seems that beastie over there is a special kind of Yeti," Jamie said, as both Doctors joined them. "The Great Intelligence must be focusing on controlling it, so it left the smaller one alone."

Jamie's Doctor was consulting the 500-Year-Diary to see if there was any sort of explanation as to the glass sphere.

"Don't bother," Sarah Jane's Doctor said. "It isn't in there. Take my word on it; I went through the entire thing when I first heard that the Intelligence had returned."

"There's no telling what that thing is capable of, then," the Brigadier muttered. "Of course. I knew it was getting to be too easy…"

"Look!" Jamie suddenly exclaimed, his eyes wide.

He was pointing to the space-time hole, staring as people began to emerge from it. Slowly, they walked out from the breach, each holding onto a metal sphere. Their faces were expressionless and unblinking.

"It's them…" the Brigadier murmured, in disbelief. "The missing people—all of them! Even some of my men are there!"

"Oh, my word…" Jamie's Doctor said. "They're all under the control of the Intelligence!"

"That's what that big beastie is!" Jamie said. "It's using that glass one to control all the others!"

"And that's why it decided to abandon the other Yeti," Sarah Jane's Doctor finished. "It wanted to focus all of its power on controlling those people."

"Diabolical," the Brigadier said. "It knows we won't attack them—and with all of those people standing between us and that Controller Yeti, we can't even risk trying to fire a single shot."

"What do we do, Sir?" another UNIT soldier asked.

"Stand down," the Brigadier ordered, though he clearly loathed the idea of having to cave to the Intelligence. "We can't risk the lives of those people; that thing has us right where it wants us."

"What happens now?" Jamie asked.

"We hear it out," the Brigadier answered. He then proceeded to call out to the Yeti. "Right; you've played your hand. What do you want!?"

"There is one thing I desire," the crowd of controlled people answered in a monotone chorus. "The Doctor's surrender."


	23. The Best of Intentions, part VII

Jamie instantly stood beside both Doctors as he heard the Intelligence's demand. He would fight every last one of the Intelligence's puppets to keep both Doctor's safe. He had made a promise to the past Doctor, after all—and, as his Doctor had said, "A Highlander's word is his bond."

Both Doctors seemed to sense this—not that it was too difficult; it was written all over the Scot's face.

"Jamie…" his Doctor said. "Please stand back."

"No," the piper insisted. "I will fight them all before I let them get ye."

"You can't fight them!" Sarah Jane's Doctor chided. "Their minds are controlled—they can't be held responsible for their actions!"

"And yet, we can't hand either of you over," the Brigadier said. "I'm afraid we are stymied."

"If you do not wish to surrender, Doctors, I will assume that the lives of these humans mean nothing to you," the Intelligence said, speaking through the controlled, monotone crowd.

"Of course he cares aboot them!" Jamie shot back. "But he is nae a fool to surrender to the likes of ye!"

"Jamie, please!" his Doctor said, shooing him back to try to shield him from the Intelligence's view.

The piper did retreat slightly, and then looked to the Brigadier.

"Can ye nae shoot that glass sphere?" he asked.

"I don't have a clear shot," the Brigadier said. "It would be criminal to endanger the lives of those people—even if we use our best marksmen!"

Jamie sighed and took a few more steps back, as though trying to get a better look at the big picture.

"If the Doctors do not surrender, it is clear that these humans are useless," the Intelligence said, through the crowd. "I will drain their minds."

"No!" Sarah Jane's Doctor exclaimed.

"Then, you will surrender?"

"What would become of us, if we decided to do so?" Jamie's Doctor asked.

"You would be drained instead."

"Just the dandy, I presume?" Jamie's Doctor asked, prompting Sarah Jane's Doctor to give him a furious glare.

"You, as well."

"…Oh, crumbs…"

The Intelligence's attention was solely focused on the Doctors and UNIT, and their attentions were solely focused on the Intelligence and the brainwashed crowd. Jamie crept along, unseen, as the conversation unfolded. He was making his way behind the time breach, approaching the main Yeti and the mind-controlled crowd from behind, as the exchange continued.

"But what's the point in draining the both of us?" Jamie's Doctor asked. "He knows everything I know, plus more!"

"Your freedom means that you can devise some method of reversing it," the crowd replied. "That, I cannot allow."

"That's what happens when you parade around, claiming to be a genius," Sarah Jane's Doctor muttered.

The Brigadier rolled his eyes, despite the gravity of the situation; the older Doctor was far from modest, as well…

Jamie was now sneaking forward on his hands and knees, like a tiger closing in on a deer. Still unseen, he waited, knowing that the moment had to be just right.

"Enough stalling," the crowd said. "You will both come forward now, or the entire crowd will be drained of their minds—every last one."

"Oh…" Jamie's Doctor sighed and looked to his older counterpart; neither of them looked confident.

"Surely there must be another way…" the Brigadier said, realizing that he saw defeat in their eyes.

"I'm… I'm afraid not, Old Fellow," Sarah Jane's Doctor said. "The Intelligence holds all the cards this time. …Goodbye, and… thank you."

He shook the Brigadier's hand, as did Jamie's Doctor.

"And Jamie…" the younger Doctor began, but he trailed off as he realized that the piper was no longer present. An expression of pure dread crossed his face. "…Oh, no…"

The crowd went rigid as the Intelligence realized that Jamie was unaccounted for—and the piper knew he had to make his move.

"CREAG AN TUIRE!"

" _Jamie_!" both Doctors exclaimed.

The piper rushed forward, launching himself at the Yeti as it turned to face him. He thrust his knife into its control unit cavity as the robot grabbed him with a massive paw. The piper struggled, slowly using his knife to pry the glass sphere out of the Yeti's control cavity.

Both Doctors now tore through the mind-controlled crowd to get to Jamie and the Yeti. None of the human puppets even attempted to stop them; the Intelligence, taken by surprise, was focusing its attention on Jamie.

Suddenly, the robot Yeti released Jamie and instant before the glass sphere had been pried free. Jamie hit the ground, and then grunted as the sphere landed on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

As he picked up the sphere, a grin crossed his face as he saw the large robot Yeti fall backwards, deactivated. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of the now-freed crowd, falling unconscious to the ground. The Brigadier was barking orders to his men to check on the victims, and Jamie was vaguely aware of his Doctor and Sarah Jane's Doctor calling his name as they continued to approach him.

Suddenly, the sounds and voices started growing distant as his own head grew cloudier and cloudier.

"Och, what's happening…?" he murmured, trying to shake the mental cobwebs.

But the haze in his mind persisted, and Jamie suddenly realized, with horror, that he couldn't move. His limbs were out of his control; he could feel his body and his mind growing numb and cold, just like…

…Just like the snow in the glass sphere.

" _Stand_ ," a voice hissed in his head—a foreign voice, not his own.

Jamie's limbs moved now, out of his control; he stood up, still clutching the sphere as both of the Doctors approached him.

" _Turn_."

Again, Jamie obeyed, and the Doctors stopped in their tracks upon seeing his face.

"No…" Jamie's Doctor said, seemingly only able to repeat that one word. "No… please, no…"

"He freed everyone else from the Intelligence…" Sarah Jane's Doctor said, wearing the same expression of horror that Jamie's Doctor had. "…But at the cost of being controlled himself."

Jamie tried to speak—to call out to the Doctors. But his larynx was out of his control, as well. Instead, when he spoke, his voice was monotone, and the words were not his own—

"Yes, the others are free," he said, all traces of Jamie's accent gone. "Now the choice is simpler—your minds in exchange for the Scot's. How fitting. It was he who let me escape last time; will he be the reason for your defeat this time? Or will you allow me to drain his simple, pathetic mind—as his punishment for allowing this to happen?"

Jamie's consciousness, a prisoner within himself, was sickened by what he was hearing.

 _Please… please, don't surrender! Let him drain me. This is my fault; it's what I deserve_ …

"You _will_ let him go once the draining is finished?!" Jamie's Doctor demanded.

"Seeing as though he will be of no further use to me, I suppose I can you grant that request…" the Intelligence said. "Are you both in agreement?"

Jamie's Doctor looked pleadingly to Sarah Jane's Doctor, who nodded.

"Of course," the older Doctor said.

 _No… NO!_ Jamie mentally screamed. _Ye cannae surrender! Please!_

But the Intelligence was making Jamie's face show a very twisted smile of triumph.

"So, which one of you shall go first?"

Jamie's Doctor sighed and turned back to Sarah Jane's Doctor, engaged in a silent conversation as the Brigadier finally joined them.

"Just what is going on here?!" he demanded. "McCrimmon!? What's the meaning of this?!"

"The Intelligence has control of Jamie," Sarah Jane's Doctor said. "We have agreed to surrender our minds to free his."

"You can't trust that thing!" the Brigadier exclaimed. "How can you ensure that it will keep its word!?"

"If we don't accept, it will drain Jamie's mind!" the younger Doctor cried. "I can't allow that—!"

"You're stalling again," the Intelligence hissed.

"Very well, then," Jamie's Doctor said. "I will go first."

Jamie's consciousness let out an agonized cry, completely unheard by everyone; meanwhile, his body, under the Intelligence's control, tucked the glass sphere under one arm and freed the other.

Jamie's Doctor stepped forward until the Intelligence raised Jamie's free hand to signal him to stop. The Intelligence then placed Jamie's hand on the Doctor's head.

"We have to stop this!" the Brigadier hissed.

"There is nothing _we_ can do," Sarah Jane's Doctor said, quietly.

The Brigadier caught the emphasis in his voice, but said nothing.

Jamie's Doctor gave him a wan smile.

"Jamie… if you can hear me… I want you to remember that this was entirely my decision. Don't ever blame yourself for this. Once you're free, remember that you made a criminal Time Lord's life more wonderful than it ever had any right to be."

The Brigadier and Sarah Jane's Doctor watched as the Intelligence continued to place Jamie's hand on the younger Doctor's head.

"What's happening?" the Brigadier asked, quietly.

"…Nothing…" the older Doctor said, placing a hand on the side of his head. "All of my memories, all of my knowledge… It's all still there…"

They continued to watch as a solitary tear fell from Jamie's eye.

"Jamie?" the younger Doctor asked, hopefully.

The Scot trembled, shuddering.

"I… promised…"

"Oh, Jamie…"

Jamie suddenly removed his hand from the Doctor's head, and, this time, the cry of agony that tore from his lips was audible.

"Jamie!" his Doctor exclaimed.

The glass sphere now slipped from Jamie's grasp and hit the ground; his Doctor immediately drew him into a protective embrace, pulling him away from the sphere.

"Now, Brigadier!" Sarah Jane's Doctor ordered.

The Brigadier immediately drew his weapon and fired at the glass sphere, shattering it to pieces. The snow seemed to get caught up in a sudden wind, whipping up into a small cloud and vanishing into the time breach, which closed up behind it. The Brigadier exhaled in relief, and he and the older Doctor rushed to Jamie and his Doctor's side.

"How is he?" the older Doctor asked.

The younger Doctor glancing down at the trembling Scot in his arms.

"Badly shaken," he said. "But himself again. Jamie? Jamie, look at me. It's over. The Intelligence fled again."

Jamie looked up at him, and then to the older Doctor, who had a hand on his shoulder.

"Ye should have let it drain me," the piper sobbed. "Ye're more important than me. How could ye take such a risk!?"

"Well," his Doctor said. "The same way you took a risk in trying to awaken a sleeping Gallifreyan-turned-Androgum."

Jamie blinked, and looked to his Doctor in surprise.

"What in blazes is an Androgum?" the Brigadier asked.

"A very low point in my past," Sarah Jane's Doctor said, flatly. "But Jamie never abandoned me."

"I don't see he could ever abandon you," the Brigadier sighed. "But there is one thing I don't understand. I've seen the way the Intelligence controlled people before—none of them, not even Professor Travers, had been able to resist the control. What did McCrimmon have that they didn't?"

"I… I donnae know…" the Scot confessed. "I'm nae clever; the Intelligence even said that I have a simple mind…"

"Your heart rules your head, Jamie," his Doctor said, smiling. "That was something the Intelligence couldn't count on—but it was something that I could. That's something that I've always been grateful for—not just today."

At last, Jamie managed a smile.

* * *

The other victims of the Great Intelligence, upon regaining consciousness, were fully recovered, as well, although highly confused as to what exactly had befallen them. UNIT was looking after them, seeing to that they would be returned home as soon as possible once they were certain that there would be no long-lasting effects.

Sarah Jane and Benton were relieved to see everyone returned safely—though Sarah Jane gave both Doctors and Jamie an earful one she heard what had happened. Jamie and his Doctor decided to choose that moment to leave, giving their hasty goodbyes to the Brigadier, Sarah Jane, and her Doctor before Sarah Jane could finish with them.

Jamie could tell that the older Doctor was disappointed to say goodbye so soon, but he put on a brave smile, instructing Jamie to look after his "impetuous" younger self. Jamie promised that he would, and returned to the TARDIS with his Doctor.

"He wasn't as bad as ye said he'd be," Jamie said, as his Doctor worked the console to get them to depart.

His Doctor merely grunted in reply.

"I think I know why ye hate him so much," the Scot said, quietly.

"Oh, do you?"

"Aye. Because he's a reminder to ye that ye're going to lose me."

The Doctor froze, staring blankly at the console for a moment.

"Regeneration," he said. "Means losing everything—my personality, this body… It's what happens to a Time Lord instead of dying."

Jamie stared.

"So… when ye say that the Time Lords are going to make ye change, they're really…"

"I'm afraid so, Jamie," the Doctor said. He looked to the Scot. "And I can tell you one thing—as terrifying as that prospect is… It is nothing compared to the knowledge that, someday, we shall have to part ways. So, yes, you're right—that dandy is a reminder of what I'm going to lose—myself, and you. And I suppose he loathes me just as much for allowing myself to lose you."

"But ye were able to work together against the Intelligence," Jamie reminded him.

"Only because we both were worried about you," the Doctor said. "And I don't know why that surprises you." He smiled. "You've always brought out the best in me… which is why I'm hoping you'll understand the chiding I'm about to give you."

"Eh…?"

The Doctor grasped him firmly by the shoulders.

"Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again!" he instructed.

"But ye said ye knew I would nae attack ye!"

"That well may be, but the Intelligence could have still drained your mind! I never wanted you to be in such danger—not even for a moment!" The Doctor's expression softened slightly. "We both know that our time together is limited. So let's not make it any shorter than it already is."

"Aye," Jamie said. "I think I can manage that."

"See that you do."

He gave Jamie's shoulder a gentle squeeze before returning his attention to the console.

"Would you like to help me fly the Old Girl this time, Jamie?"

"…Ye must be joking."

"I most certainly am not joking!" the Doctor insisted. "Don't think that I was unaware of you driving that car; I saw the way that dandy had to readjust the seat before we went tearing off after that Yeti—you were the only one with him before! He taught you to drive, so, obviously, I have to outdo that!"

Jamie looked like a proverbial kid in a candy store.

"I think we should meet yer other selves more often!"

The Doctor winced at the thought.

"Perish the thought. Now, come over here to the console before I change my mind!"

And as they flew the TARDIS back to Gallifrey to receive their next mission, they silently agreed not to focus on the future. Even though they both knew that the future held an inevitable parting, for the moment, they still had each other.

And they were both determined to enjoy it for however long it lasted.


	24. Taking the Long Way Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 24: Jamie McCrimmon, the Second Doctor, and Kirsty McLaren

Jamie wasn't sure for how long he had been walking through the familiar moors of his homeland. On most other occasions, he would have been thrilled to be home; now, though, he was just relieved to be safe. However, he still had plenty to worry about—mainly the unconscious Gallifreyan that was now draped over the Scot's shoulders.

Jamie paused now, turning his head to glance him.

"Doctor?" he asked.

But the Doctor did not respond, and Jamie's feeling of unease increased. The Doctor had not awakened since collapsing in the TARDIS—and that had been some time ago. Jamie wasn't sure what had happened; they had gotten separated during the course of a mission. After nearly three days, Jamie had finally found him, pale and bruised, and pushed to the brink of exhaustion; a small cut above his eye had been bleeding.

Concerned and horrified, the piper had helped the Time Lord back to the TARDIS; the Doctor had been unable to speak after his harrowing ordeal, and Jamie had been practically carrying him back.

Once they reached the safety of the TARDIS, the weakened Doctor had tried to set something on the console.

"Doctor, ye need to rest!" Jamie had said, fearing that he would push himself to the point of regeneration; Polly and Ben had once told him that had been what had happened to the previous Doctor.

"HADS…" the Time Lord gasped. "Need… to set… the HADS…"

"I'll do it," Jamie had insisted, pushing the buttons that the Doctor was trying to reach. "Doctor, please… just rest!"

But the Doctor couldn't relax; he had been trying so hard to get back up, but simply couldn't manage it.

"Androgums…" he had gasped.

Jamie had frozen at that point, his hand in midair.

"The Androgums did this to ye!?" he had asked, horrified. Now, it suddenly became clear why the Doctor was so exhausted; he had, quite literally, been running for his life.

"Two… whole Grigs… Tracking the TARDIS down…"

"…Chessene and Shockeye's Grigs, I'll bet," Jamie had fumed. "I'm certain the Time Lords did this—I refused to abandon ye to them, so they must have let it slip as to where we would be on our mission… Probably even told them how to track the TARDIS, too…"

Jamie had trailed off as the Doctor had tried to stand up again. But the Gallifreyan had soon fallen forward, slipping into unconscious.

"Doctor!"

He had landed in Jamie's arms as a furious hammering on the TARDIS doors began. The HADS had activated; as the TARDIS dematerialized, there had been little the piper could do other than to hold the Doctor close.

When the TARDIS had stopped, Jamie had taken a quick peek outside—and had been startled to see that she had landed in a moor. It wasn't just any moor; Jamie recognized it on sight as part of the Highlands he had lived in up until his twenty-second year—the year of the Battle of Culloden… the year he had met the Doctor.

Jamie had quickly dashed back to the Doctor, gathering him in his arms. The TARDIS had whirred, and Jamie knew she had been trying to tell him something.

"I cannae understand… What am I to do? Can the Androgums track ye now, even though we've gotten away? …Aye… They should find ye empty… Make them think we're lost somewhere in the moor…"

That had been when he had eased the Doctor across his shoulders and had set off into the moor, locking the TARDIS door behind him.

But that had been hours ago—and there had been no sign of the Doctor getting any better since then.

"Ye need food… and water. Aye, water's the most important thing for ye now—water and rest," Jamie said, feeling how clammy the Doctor's forehead was. "I know where we can find both… Just… hold on…"

It was a quiet plea; even though he knew that the future Doctor was just as good a man as his Doctor, that didn't mean that Jamie was ready to say goodbye to this one.

"I donnae want ye to change yet…" Jamie said, blinking back a few tears.

For the moment, though, the Doctor seemed to be staying the same; Jamie took this as a hopeful sign and headed onward until he reached a small house, built out of wood. Despite his deep worry for the Doctor, a twinge of joy did find its way into the piper's heart as he saw the house, surrounded by its garden, which was now overrun by weeds. The setting sun bathed it in a dusky light.

He was home.

He maintained his steady pace as he approached the house, gently easing the door open and carrying the Doctor inside. Purpose-driven, Jamie did not stop until he had reached the back room—the room he had shared with his brothers up until the fateful day they had gone to war. He placed the Doctor in one of the beds.

The Time Lord did not stir; Jamie felt his forehead again, and was alarmed at how warm he felt. Normally, the Gallifreyan's skin was much cooler, as his body temperature was considerable lower than a human's.

Jamie knew that he had little time to work with before the Doctor got past the point of no return. He ran back across the house, stubbing his toe on a chair that had been left out of place; Jamie involuntarily cursed whichever one of his late brothers had done it—they had always been leaving the chairs out.

Jamie lit candle in the lantern and left in the window before heading outside. The tin cup was still by the water pump located in the garden; it took Jamie a moment to pump the water, but as he headed back towards the house, he froze.

Starlight was illuminating a figure dashing into the house; the light had reflected off of something in the figure's hand—a weapon of some sort.

"An Androgum!"

Jamie swore again, drawing his knife as he headed inside; the figure turned as he stormed inside.

" _Creag an Turie_!"

The figure backed away from him, letting out a shrill gasp of surprise; the weapon in the figure's hand—a small dagger—fell to the floor.

" _Jamie_!?" a familiar voice whispered.

A chill ran down the piper's spine as he heard the voice speak his name.

" _Kirsty_!?"

The piper grabbed the lantern in the window, holding it out in front of him. The light fell upon the face of a woman—a woman he had last seen a long time ago, heading for France with her father.

A quiet mumbling from the back room brought Jamie back to his senses. The piper dashed back outside and got another cup of water from the pump and headed back inside, grabbing the lantern from the window.

"Jamie?" Kirsty asked, as she followed him. "What's happening!?"

"The Doctor is ill!"

"The Doctor?!" she asked. "The same Doctor ye went to help instead of coming to France with Father and me?"

"Aye, but if we donnae move quickly, he won't be the same Doctor for much longer…" Jamie said.

"What!?" she asked, but then pushed the thought aside. "Och, give me that…"

She took the cup of water from Jamie and instructed him to raise the Doctor to a sitting position. Gently, she held the cup of water to the Doctor's lips; barely conscious, the Time Lord drank it, much to the relief of both of the Scots.

"That's the first response I've gotten from him since he fell unconscious," Jamie sighed.

"What happened to him?" Kirsty asked, as she pulled the cup away for a moment to pour a little bit of the water on a strip of cloth.

"He was attacked by Androgums…" He trailed off, realizing that she had no idea of what he was talking about. "…They're big, gluttonous beasties that eat _anything_."

Kirsty stared at him for a moment before handing Jamie the water-soaked cloth. She placed the cup of water back to the Doctor's lips as Jamie gently pressed the cloth across the Doctor's forehead.

"I donnae why I believe ye," she said. "But I do. Is that why we ne'er heard from ye all this time? Ye were running from Redcoats and beasties?"

"Oh, aye; we outran the Redcoats easily enough. But e'erywhere we went, there were usually beasties…" Jamie grinned. "Kirsty, I've seen things and been to places ye can only imagine… The Doctor has a machine—she's called the TARIDS, and she's alive. And we can go anywhere in time and space!"

"And ye ne'er once thought to come home?"

Her voice had taken on a noticeable edge, and the grin faded from Jamie's face.

"Of course I thought to come home," he said. "Especially after Ben and Polly went home—ye remember them?"

"Aye," she said, remembering the adventure she and Polly had shared during the Doctor's last visit. "So why di'n ye come back?"

"Well…" Jamie said. "I did nae have any reason to. Ye were off somewhere in France, and my family was all gone. I was sent back for a li'l bit, but when the Doctor came back for me, I went with him again… We've been traveling together now for…" He trailed off. "Och, I donnae know, to be honest; it's verra difficult to keep track of time when ye're skipping aboot through it…"

" _Thirteen years_!" Kirsty suddenly snapped.

"Eh!?"

"Ye've been gone for thirteen years!" she said. "No one knew where ye'd vanished to! Father and I came back, looking for ye… We ne'er even found a trace! Jamie, we… we thought ye were dead!"

Jamie stared at her, speechless.

"Do ye know why this house is like this? Why it's nae ruined and abandoned? Father gained ownership of it; I asked him to let me look after it—in yer honor. I've been keeping it like this so we could remember ye… We had nothing to bury, after all. Father is also looking to get back yer ancestral home—that castle yer father always talked aboot when we were children…" She glared at him. "And ye just walk back in here, years later, like nothing e'er happened!"

"I di'n mean… I was… All I could think of was that I had to get the Doctor somewhere safe…" Jamie said. "The TARDIS brought us here, and this was the first place I thought of—I thought ye were still in France! I…"

He trailed off again, realizing that had no words with which to defend himself; he quietly resumed moving the cold cloth across the Doctor's forehead.

"I am sorry, Kirsty," he said.

Her expression softened as she watched him tend to the Doctor.

"Ye care aboot him verra much, don't ye?" she asked.

"Aye. He cares aboot me, too. We've been looking after each other."

"Aye, I believe that he cares aboot ye," she said, with a smile. "Any man who'd dress as an old crone to help ye to freedom would have to."

"Oh, aye… … _what_!?"

"Ye should have seen him in that dress…"

"Just between us, I've been trying to forget that…" a third voice now said.

"Doctor!" Jamie exclaimed.

The Gallifreyan opened his eyes at last and smiled at the two Scots.

"Hullo," he said. "I see the Old Girl brought us back to the Highlands. What year is it?"

"It's 1759," Jamie said. "Thirteen years since Culloden."

"Oh, my word… really?" the Doctor asked. He turned to Kirsty. "Hello, Kirsty. I am sorry for borrowing Jamie all this time."

But Kirsty looked back at the Doctor—seeing the weight in his eyes that hadn't been there all those years ago.

"…I think ye needed him more than I did," she realized, and she turned back to Jamie. "Aye; now I know why ye di'n come back."

Jamie nodded, and then gave a start as the Doctor attempted to get up.

"Och, ye need to rest!" the piper protested.

"I had my rest, and I can rest some more in the Zero Room; with the Androgums trying to track the TARDIS down, we shouldn't stay here for too long. I wouldn't wish for Kirsty to have to deal with them."

"Oh, aye…"

"Ye're leaving?" Kirsty asked, her face falling. "Now?"

"Well, _I_ must," the Doctor said. He looked to Jamie. "If you would like to stay, Jamie—perhaps, for a little while, I could come back for you…"

He wasn't very good at hiding what he truly felt this time, however; it was written all over him that he still wanted— _needed_ —Jamie's company.

And, judging by the look on the piper's face, he felt the same way.

"I could nae let ye face the Androgums alone," Jamie said. He paused and looked to Kirsty. "I'm sorry…"

But Kirsty was smiling, albeit wanly.

"Go with him," she said.

Jamie smiled back.

"Ye can come with us…" he said.

Kirsty thought for a moment.

"Ask me that next time."

"Next time?" Jamie asked.

"Aye. That way, I'll know ye'll come back. Just donnae wait another thirteen years." She looked to the Doctor. "Keep him safe. …Keep each other safe."

The Doctor gave a nod.

"Of course we will. Oh, and I believe this is yours…" The Doctor searched through his pockets until he found what he was looking for.

"The Prince's ring!" Kirsty exclaimed.

"It saved our lives that night," he said, handing it back to her. "Thank you."

Kirsty nodded, and helped Jamie get the Doctor to his feet.

"Ye're sure ye can manage?" Jamie asked.

"I'll be quite alright now," the Doctor promise. "A good rest was what I needed."

But Jamie wasn't convinced, and continued to support the Doctor's weight as he helped him across the house. He turned back one last time to look at the house—and Kirsty.

"Until next time?" he offered.

"Aye," she said. "Next time."

They exchanged one final set of goodbyes, and it was with a definite bittersweet feeling that Jamie left his home—and one of his oldest friends—behind.

"I am sorry, Jamie," the Doctor said, as the piper helped him along. "I know what it's like, leaving home behind."

"The way I see it, I'm going from one home to another."

The Doctor blinked in surprise for a moment, and then smiled.

"You know, I think that's how I see it, too," he said.

"But there is still one thing that confuses me," Jamie said.

"Yes?"

"What was this about ye wearing a dress?"

"…Oh."

The Doctor could see that he wasn't about to get out of this without an explanation. But he didn't mind; recounting the tale of an embarrassing disguise wasn't that bad—especially when the listener was someone so very cherished.


	25. Humanity, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie McCrimmon and Leela, done on request; part 1 of 2

Jamie groaned, his head pounding. Something had happened… something bad… But what?

He and the Doctor had been traveling about through space aimlessly, but enjoying it. There had been a call from the Celestial Intervention Agency… Yes, that he remembered—something about a Dalek signal being broadcasted from an underground facility on the Earth. He and the Doctor had been sent to investigate it.

"Doctor…?" Jamie asked, his eyes still shut. There was an unending pounding that reverberated in his head.

What had happened to them? Oh, that's right—they had met another one of his Doctor's future selves. Jamie had been highly amused by this Doctor's long, multicolored scarf, and this Doctor had just been pleased to see Jamie again after what had, for him, been another long period of time without him. This Doctor had just about been ready to introduce Jamie to his current companion—a young woman who, like Jamie, carried a knife with her—when the four of them were suddenly surrounded by men in white lab coats.

The men wasted no time hauling both Doctors away; Jamie and the other Doctor's companion immediately called out to them, trying to help them before they, too, were seized and dragged away—in the opposite direction.

Jamie recalled having fought back against his captors; one of them had taken out a syringe of something. He recalled both Doctors calling his name as a needle plunged into his arm…

…And he couldn't recall anything after that.

The pounding in his head still continued, and as Jamie opened his eyes, he saw that he was in a room that was painted white, with all sorts of posters and informative bulletins all over the walls—and one very large mirror. There were shelves of books, and there was even a computer on a desk. There were also couches—Jamie was lying on one of them.

There were no windows in the room, and only one door; as Jamie looked towards it, he saw the other Doctor's companion furiously hammering her fists on the door—that had been the source of the pounding in his head.

"Och, can ye stop that?" he asked.

The woman looked back at him.

"They have taken both of the Doctors!" she snapped. "And they locked us in here!"

Jamie was on his feet in an instant.

"They took the Doctors?!"

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "They threw the both of us in here and took the Doctors elsewhere."

"They must be working with the Daleks," Jamie hissed. "Yer Doctor said that he was following the same Dalek signal we were."

"Yes," she said. "But we didn't see any Daleks; we only ran into you. Did you see any?"

"No; we only saw ye," Jamie said. His eyes widened. "Hey… ye don' suppose…"

"It was a trap," she said, her eyes narrowing. "A trap for the Doctors."

"Then we need to find the Doctors and get them oot of here," Jamie insisted. "Aye; do ye have yer knife?"

"No, they took it from me," she said.

Jamie immediately checked his sock, and was pleased to see that his knife was still there.

"I still have mine. Now, here's what we'll do—ye… What's yer name?"

"Leela."

"Aye. I'm Jamie. Now when they open that door, I'll hold them at bay with my knife, and ye slip oot and try to find where the Doctors are, and I'll join ye later."

Leela considered this.

"We don't have any other options," she admitted. "We have to find the Doctors before anything happens to them."

Jamie nodded in agreement and began to examine the room that they were trapped in. it was only after he took a closer look at the posters and books that he noticed something in common among them.

They were all about human biology and human behavior—how humans were supposed to act and behave. And the more Jamie observed this, as well as remembering the fact that there were no Daleks in spite of the signal, the more uneasy he felt.

"I think I know why they took the Doctors away," he said, after a moment.

Leela looked to him, questioningly.

"Look at all of this," Jamie said, indicating the posters and books. "All of this information on humans and how they're supposed to act…" He squinted slightly as he read the smaller print. "It says, 'Printed by the Earth for the Earthlings Society.'" His eyes widened. "Oh, no…"

"The Doctors aren't from this world," Leela said, realizing what Jamie was trying to say. "They've taken them away because of that!"

"Very perceptive," a voice said.

Jamie and Leela whirled around, freezing in their tracks to see about a half-dozen men in white lab coats. There were too many for Jamie to threaten, he realized. But that didn't mean that they couldn't get some answers.

"What have ye done to the Doctors!?" Jamie demanded.

"You don't have to worry anymore," one of the men said. "You are free from the alien menaces."

"Free!?" Leela repeated, incredulously. "We were not their prisoners! You are the ones who locked us in this room!"

"Aye, that's right!" Jamie fumed. "We want to go back with the Doctors!"

"You were right, Sir," one of the men said to the one who had addressed Jamie and Leela first. "Those Gallifreyans have used some sort of highly-effective brainwashing on these two."

"It is as I feared," the leader said. "Still, it is our responsibility as the scientific team of the Earth for the Earthlings Society to see to the rehabilitation of these two."

"Reha- _what_!?" Jamie exclaimed. "What are ye going to do us!?"

"Undo whatever it is those alien menaces did to you," the lead scientist said.

"We don't need any rehabilitation," Leela said, scowling. "The Doctors have no desire to harm the Earth."

"Aye; they've gone oot of their way to defend it!" Jamie added.

"A highly convincing charade done to gain your confidence," a scientist said. "No alien could possibly have any selfless designs for Earth and its creatures!"

"Ye're mad—all of ye!" Jamie said. "The Doctors mean no harm!"

The scientists exchanged glances.

"Are you certain this brainwashing will be reversible?"

"Even if it isn't, it is best that they undergo treatment," the lead scientist said. "Even if we end up with no alternative other than getting them committed—better for them to be safe on the Earth than in the hands of those aliens."

"What about the aliens?" one of the other scientists asked.

"We'll have to double up on our questioning," the lead scientist said. "See if we can get them to reveal exactly what sort of mind control they used on these two."

"Don' ye dare hurt them!" Jamie yelled.

"If you harm them, we will see to it that you suffer just as equally!" Leela vowed.

"You two will soon come to understand that what we are doing is for your own good—and the good of humanity. The captured Gallifreyans will give us a greater insight into the devious nature of what these aliens have planned—and once the real experiements get underway, well… We can take everything we learn from our studies of Gallifreyan biology to help humanity."

"When you say 'study,'" Leela said. "You don't mean…"

"We will try to pump whatever useful information we can from the Gallifreyans," the lead scientist said. "And we will use whatever means necessary—including the scalpel."

Jamie swore; forgetting his knife, he lunged at the scientists, aiming to attack them with his bare hands.

"Monsters!" he yelled, as they held him back. "Ye're nae but a bunch of heartless beasties!"

One of the scientists firmly pressed a hand on a pressure point at the back of his neck.

"Believe us, Young Man," Jamie heard him said, as everything began to fade around him again. "This is for your own good. You'll thank us in the end."

And all went dark for the piper once again.


	26. Humanity, Part II

When Jamie next awoke, he found himself strapped to some sort of stretcher. He also quickly realized that he couldn't see a thing—he seemed to be covered by some sort of sheet.

Baffled and concerned, he tried to call out to Leela, hoping that she was nearby, but his mouth was gagged.

After several minutes of fruitless struggling, the Scot stopped his efforts, trying instead to pick up what information he could about his surroundings from just trying to listen. He could hear the scientists conversing among themselves, discussing how he and Leela seemed to have normal brain activity despite the "obvious" signs of brainwashing.

"There is only one thing we can do," the lead scientist said. "We must demand that the alien menaces undo the damage they have done to this young man. Have you found the young lady?"

"Negative, Sir; she disappeared into one of the stairwells. There's no telling which floor she might have gotten to by now. We'll have to monitor the security footage and see if she has a planned route."

Jamie's heart skipped a beat; Leela had escaped the scientists! There was hope for him—and the Doctors!

"What about this one?" another scientist asked.

Jamie felt one of the scientists poke at his covered arm.

"As I said, the Gallifreyans may be the only ones able to undo the brainwashing they've done to him. We'll see to that now."

Jamie froze as he heard a door opening; the next thing he heard was the furious ranting of both his Doctor and Leela's Doctor.

"Now see here!" Jamie's Doctor snapped. "I protest vehemently against the way I've been treated!"

"Besides that, we haven't eaten since yesterday," Leela's Doctor added.

They both protested as they were forced into chairs and tied down.

"We have no quarrel with you!" Jamie's Doctor said. "We only came here to stop the Dalek from harming anyone!"

"What you heard, Alien, was the pathetic cry of an insane Dalek," the lead scientist said. "We managed to get some information from that thing before its mind gave in to our questioning—and among that information was the fact that the Dalek's greatest enemies are the Time Lords. We knew we had to get our hands on one for study—to defend against an inevitable invasion."

"Are _you_ quite sane?" Leela's Doctor asked. "Our people have no desire to do anything with yours."

"Indeed," Jamie's Doctor sniffed.

"Yet, you two came here," the head scientist pointed out. "And imagine our surprise, though, when we saw that the both of you had taken humans captive."

"And we've told you for the umpteenth time—they are not our captives!" Jamie's Doctor retorted. "And I am insulted that you would ever presume as such!"

"If you spared a moment to put your brain cells together long enough to ask them, they would tell you that they chose to travel with us," Leela's Doctor added.

"They told us that," the scientist said. "And they attacked us!"

"Did we mention that one is a Jacobite rebel, and the other is a survivor of a failed survey team that turned feral?" Leela's Doctor intoned.

"So that's your scheme?" a second scientist asked. "You kidnap the savages of our species and brainwash them to serve you and turn against us?"

"How _dare_ you…!?" Jamie's Doctor fumed.

"How dare _you_?" the head scientist countered. "How dare _you_ , Sirs, take advantage of the most depraved of humanity and turn them against their own kind!? This has gone on for long enough—and we demand that you undo whatever it is you've done this instant!"

Jamie flinched as the bright lights of the room struck his eyes; the scientist had pulled the sheet off of him.

"Jamie!" both Doctors exclaimed.

Jamie tried to turn his head to look at them; he was now able to see that the Doctors were not only tied down to the chairs, but they had several electrodes attached to their faces and wrists that were projecting graphs on a nearby monitor.

"Let him go!" his Doctor demanded. "You claim that he belongs with his own kind, and yet you treat him like this!?"

"This is a necessity," the scientist said. "He must be rehabilitated. What exactly did you do to him to make him turn against his own kind?"

Both Doctors glared at the head scientist.

"If you do not tell us," the scientist sneered. "Then we will have no choice but to perform brain surgery on him to return him to _tabula rasa_. …Why does that upset you? Surely, you did the same to him to get him into this state?"

He began to inspect Jamie's head, trying to look for the "scars" of the "operation." A new figure in a lab coat joined the others through the front door; this figure also had a surgical mask obscuring its face. Jamie assumed that this was going to be the surgeon who would be probing around in his brain.

"Alright!" Jamie's Doctor suddenly exclaimed. "You're right about us—you're absolutely right! I used an ancient but highly effective strategy to win Jamie's loyalty! Are you satisfied!?"

Jamie's eyes widened in disbelief. It couldn't be true—it couldn't possibly be true!

"And I did the same to Leela," her Doctor added. "Well done, Gentlemen; your tenacity has revealed the truth at long last."

The scientist now turned towards the Doctors, listening intently.

"Go on," he said, silently motioning for the others to take notes. "What did you do?"

"I used a method that has been practiced across the galaxy for thousands of years," the Doctor said. "It's subtle—so very subtle—but effective."

"What is it?" the scientist asked.

"Kindness," Jamie's Doctor responded. "And love."

The room was utterly silent; none of the scientists could form a reply.

"Diabolical, isn't it?" Leela's Doctor deadpanned.

Jamie, relieved at this current turn of events, suddenly realized that his could move his arms and legs again—the ropes that had been holding him down had been severed. He looked up to see the surgeon now cutting his gag with a scalpel.

His eyes widened.

" _Leela_!?" he mouthed, as she removed the gag.

Her eyes silently instructed him to be quiet.

An alarm suddenly blared, and the scientists quickly filed out of the room, one of them instructing Leela to stand guard over the prisoners.

Jamie immediately got to his feet, and he and Leela set about freeing the Doctors at once.

"I like the new look," Leela's Doctor said. "Or, at least, I would if it didn't remind me of those ghastly folks."

Leela smirked, pleased with her handiwork; Jamie merely embraced his Doctor once he was free.

"Like I said," his Doctor said. "Subtle… but effective. Now, then… I daresay we should depart from here at once."

"Aye, I'm all for that," Jamie said. "It's a lucky thing that the alarm went off."

Leela's Doctor glanced at her, arching an eyebrow as her smirk widened.

"I don't think luck had anything to do with it," he said. "Leela?"

"I came across a Dalek—one that was at death's door," she said. "Its weapons had been removed, and it had been chained to the wall. I replaced its weaponry with a few scalpels I found and set it loose."

Outside, in the hall, a garbled cry of "EX-TER-MI-NATE" repeated over and over again as the insane Dalek twirled past the door. The scientists were chasing it down, but didn't dare approach it for fear of the scalpels.

"In its current state, I shan't expect it to last more than a couple hours, if it's lucky," Jamie's Doctor assessed.

"Oh, good," Leela's Doctor said. "Then there's no need to feel guilty for letting them deal with it for the next two hours?"

"No," Jamie and Leela chorused.

The matter settled, Jamie's Doctor saw to using the Stattenheim remote control to get them back to where Leela's Doctor had left his TARDIS. After expressing a wish to see Jamie again in a more pleasant situation, Leela's Doctor left with her.

"They'll be alright?" Jamie asked.

"Of course," his Doctor said. "Why wouldn't they be?"

"They'll be in danger," he said. "From that… Earth for the Earthlings Society. We have nae seen the last of them; they'll be after ye—and they'll try to 'rehabilitate' me, or whatever it is they were planning." He sighed. "Now I know how ye feel. All the times the Time Lords looked down on me for being a human… They were right."

"No, they weren't," the Doctor insisted. "We both have reasons to be ashamed of our people; in this case, it's for the same reason—that our people refuse to see the importance of the lives of others. Now, then… How about we continue on our way and prove them all wrong?"

Jamie looked to the Doctor and managed a smile.

He could live with that.


	27. A Moment's Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 27: Jamie McCrimmon, the Second Doctor, the Fifth Doctor, and Vislor Turlough.

Jamie watched with interest as the Doctor made some adjustments to the TARDIS console.

"Can I ask what ye're doing?"

"I am making some necessary changes around here!" the Doctor said, his feet and legs visible as he had plunged headfirst into the wiring upon opening one of the panels. "I am sick and tired of the Celestial Intervention Agency keeping an eye on my navigation systems. It's bad enough I have to return to Gallifrey every time they have a new mission for us. I'm not about to have them tracking me when we get what little time we have to ourselves!"

"What exactly are ye trying to do?"

"Re-wire the navigational systems so that they can still communicate with us, but no longer track our movements."

"We could get in trouble…"

"Not likely; this old TARDIS was deemed faulty when I took it—we can just blame it on that. The young lady who convinced me to take it warned me that it had navigational issues… They are aware of that."

"…That explains a _lot_. Ye always had problems getting us to where we wanted to go. It's because the other Time Lords installed that tracking device that we're able to navigate so easily!"

"I shan't dignify that with a reply! Now, then… All I need to do is reconnect these two wires here, and that should— _yipe_!"

There was a sudden shower of sparks from the open panel of the console; Jamie gave a start as the Doctor somersaulted backwards out from under the console, stuffing his fingers in his mouth.

The Scot wasted no time in finding the first aid kit and silently knelt down beside the Doctor, who, after turning slightly red, removed his fingers from his mouth to reveal his slightly-burned fingertips.

Jamie sighed and began to wrap the Doctor's fingers in the medicated bandages.

"Was it really worth—?"

" _Yes_ ," the Doctor insisted. "Now, we can go anywhere we like without the Time Lords looking over our shoulders!"

He waited until Jamie had finished bandaging his fingers before heading back to the console.

"Where would you like to go next, Jamie? Aha, how about the seaside—that's always a popular option! The warm, crystal-clear waters of the tropics!"

He threw a switch on the console, and the TARDIS began to materialize at their destination.

"She's got a spark back in her!" he grinned, hearing the familiar sound of freedom—or as close to it as he could get, given his situation.

"Aye, I know—I saw a whole bunch of sparks…"

"Now, Jamie…" the Doctor chided. "Have more faith in us!" He clapped his bandaged hands together as the TARDIS came to a stop. "And here we are! Welcome to the Caribbean, Jamie!"

He pushed the button to open up the doors… and stared, dumbly, as he saw the snowy mountaintop they had landed upon, surrounded by an alpine forest.

"I'm sorry, what was that ye were saying?" Jamie asked. "Warm, crystal-clear waters of the tropics, I believe it was?"

"Caribbean, Colorado—close enough! Are you going to be that much of a stickler for details!?" the Doctor snapped.

He stormed off to the wardrobe and returned with his fur coat and Jamie's anorak.

"So, we have a skiing holiday instead of one by the seaside!" he said, ignoring the smirk on the Scot's face. "The point of the matter is that the Time Lords don't know where we are and can't bother us!"

Jamie took his anorak, and as the two headed outside, they suddenly heard the sounds of another TARDIS—and looked up to see a police box sailing just over their heads and crash-landing in the snow beside them. The doors opened, revealing a fair-haired man in a cricket suit, accompanied by a ginger-haired man.

"What was that?" the ginger-haired man asked. "Doctor, what did you do?"

"It wasn't my fault!" the cricketer insisted.

"That's what you said the last time the TARDIS crashed—with another TARDIS."

"Turlough, I told you, that was the fault of my tenth self!" the cricketer insisted. "He crashed into me! And if I remember right, the fault for this crash lies with my second self. And there he is."

Jamie's Doctor now folded his arms, scowling, as the cricketer clambered out of the TARDIS, followed by the man called Turlough.

"You again?" Jamie's Doctor said.

"I should be asking you that. First our tenth self, and now you?"

"I don't have to stand here and take this from you!" Jamie's Doctor retorted. "Who do you think you are—the Lord President?"

"Actually," Turlough's Doctor said. "I am."

"…What."

"You left moments before Chancellor Flavia made me Lord President to replace Borusa."

"…Oh, my giddy aunt… What has the High Council come to?"

"I've been asking that myself," Turlough's Doctor mused.

"But that's a good thing, though, isn't it?" Jamie asked. "Ye went from a criminal to the Lord President!"

Turlough's Doctor looked to Jamie and grinned.

"But it's not much fun, is it?" he said. "That's why I ran away—again."

"Yes, with this one here…" Jamie's Doctor observed. "Turlough, is it?"

"Yeah…"

"You had another one, didn't you?" Jamie's Doctor asked. "The short-haired girl?"

"Tegan?" Turlough's Doctor replied. "Yes, she… She left. Much like Victoria did."

"…I see. Jamie, come here; you should meet Turlough. He and I met very briefly in the Tomb of Rassilon. Turlough, this is…"

"Jamie—I know," Turlough said. "I've heard a lot about him already."

Jamie looked to Turlough's Doctor with a smirk.

"Is there any one of yer companions ye have nae told aboot me?"

"Not so far," the cricketer mused. "Didn't have the chance to ask my tenth self, though."

"Yes, that reminds me…" Jamie's Doctor said, now walking off and beckoning Turlough's Doctor to follow. "This tenth self of ours has me concerned the more I hear about him. What's he like?"

Turlough's Doctor let out a low whistle.

"Talks about 500 words a second…" he said, as they began to trek through the snow. "Young-looking—even younger than I look…"

Jamie looked to Turlough, baffled.

"Are we supposed to follow?"

Turlough shrugged.

"We might as well. Mine gets into trouble every five seconds. Does yours?"

"Oh, aye…" Jamie said, as they headed in the same direction as the Doctors. "We're only here because he got us to the wrong place."

"Where were you headed?"

"The Caribbean."

"…Of course."

"Mind ye—I don' mind. It does nae matter to me where we end up," Jamie admitted. "Just as long as we're together. I'd even go so far as to say that even if the Time Lords threw us in some prison cell, I still would nae mind… too much."

"I would," Turlough admitted. "Though that's because I know what being ill-treated by your own people is like."

Jamie blinked.

"I'm sorry… Actually, I know how it is, too," he added, thinking about his recent encounter with the Earth for the Earthlings Society.

"Doesn't stop him from being a cosmic child, though, I've noticed," Turlough said.

As if to illustrate his point, a snowball sailed over their heads.

"Keep up, you two!" Jamie's Doctor called to them, as Turlough's Doctor was visibly trying not to laugh.

"Tell me… what do you do when he starts acting… like that?" Turlough asked.

"Och, ye just stand back and watch—it's quite amusing, really. Anyway, one of us has to stay dignified—"

SPLAT.

The second snowball caught Jamie smack in the face. Turlough's Doctor couldn't hold back his laughter any more.

Turlough's eyebrows arched as Jamie slowly turned to face him, brushing the snow off of his face.

"Sometimes, though, dignity is nae important," the Scot declared, just before scooping a handful of snow and heading after the Doctors, yelling, " _Creag an Tuire_!"

Turlough merely shrugged and took off after them—a moment's peace for the two TARDIS teams.


	28. Workout, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 28: Jamie McCrimmon, the Second Doctor, and Mel Bush; part 1 of 2.

Jamie and his Doctor were enjoying their newfound unsupervised freedom—even though they knew it would only be a matter of time until they would be assigned another mission. Until that moment came, however, they were determined to make the most of every moment. For the moment, they were in the midst of an intergalactic pub-crawl, stuffing themselves with exotic cuisines from various countries on Earth, as well as other planets.

Jamie was enjoying every moment of it—especially since the Doctor wasn't restricting his appetite like he used to before, meaning that they could share all of the new dishes and drinks together. He had to admit, he wished it hadn't been because of the Doctor's temporary transformation into an Androgum—for it had been after that that the Doctor's new-found appetite had manifested itself. But the Doctor didn't seem to mind, and so Jamie decided to enjoy it, too.

The two had just departed from a midnight festival with their arms around each other, slightly unsteady on their feet and giggly after all the wining and dining they had done that particular night.

"Oh, Jamie…" the Doctor said, staring up ahead, where he had left the TARDIS. "I do believe I'm seeing double…."

"Eh?" the Scot asked, and then staring as he saw two police boxes up ahead. "Oh… I'm seeing double, too…"

"Oh, that's helpful…" the Doctor muttered.

Undaunted, however, he fished the TARDIS key from his pocket and randomly selected one of the two police boxes.

"Aha," he said, as he succeeded in unlocking the box. "See, it worked! Now, then, where shall we go next? There's a wonderful set of eateries near Alpha Arietis…" He trailed off, staring open-mouthed at the exercise equipment that now occupied the console room. "What is _this_!?"

I've ne'er seen anything like it…" Jamie said, taking out his knife and poking at the panel of a treadmill. He yelped and clung to the Doctor as it suddenly started up. "Metal beasties! They're metal beasties!"

"How did they get in here!?" the Doctor demanded, staring at the treadmill in disgust.

"Beasties enter anywhere they like!" Jamie said, his eyes wide.

"These are not beasties, Jamie. These are… some sort of torture devices, by the looks of them…"

"How terrible…" the Scot said, shaking his head.

"What's terrible is the condition you two are in," a third voice tutted.

Jamie and the Doctor clung to each other in momentary fear before realizing that the speaker was a young woman, dressed in a strange outfit.

"And just who do you think you are, invading my TARDIS with these machines!?" the Doctor demanded.

"Your TARDIS?" the woman asked. "This is the Doctor's TARDIS—he invited me to travel with him. …Oh, I see—you must be one of his past selves!"

"Doctor…" Jamie said. "I think we're in the wrong TARDIS. This must belong to another one of ye. We were nae seeing double after all!"

"Overindulged in food _and_ drink," the woman tutted. "We'll have to fix that."

Jamie and the Doctor weren't paying attention; they were too focused on getting back to their TARDIS.

"My apologies, Miss…" the Doctor began.

"Mel Bush."

"Yes, well…" the Doctor continued. "We seem to be in the wrong TARDIS; we'll just pop back into our proper timestream—"

"Not in your condition," Mel said, pressing the button on the console to close the doors. "You're going to have to work all that off."

"Work all what off?" Jamie asked.

Mel didn't answer; she switched on some sort of tape player, and loud, fast-paced music blared from it, causing both the Doctor and Jamie to cringe.

"All right!" she barked. "Let me see you kick those legs up!"

The duo exchanged glances as she demonstrated.

"KICK!" she demanded. "I can't let you leave in that condition—someone has to look after you! KICK! KICK! KICK!"

She continued to bark at them to kick their knees up, and the Doctor and Jamie found themselves with no choice but to comply with her orders. Once she was satisfied that the duo had kicked enough, she proceeded to order them to perform a series of aerobic exercises, one after the other.

Finally, she turned the music off, and the Doctor and Jamie slumped to the floor, sitting back to back, while using the backs of each other's heads as supports.

"Doctor…" Jamie gasped. "…Are we dead…?"

"I… I don't know, Jamie…"

Mel walked over to them, surveying the scene.

"Not bad—not bad at all," she declared. "You handled the warm-up very well. Now the real workout begins. I'll get the weights."

Jamie and the Doctor looked to each other in sheer, unbridled horror as Mel left the console room.

"Jamie," the Doctor said, grasping his hand. "No matter what happens, always remember—it was my honor to have been by your side."

"Likewise, Doctor," the Scot said. "Likewise."


	29. Workout, part II

Neither Jamie nor the Doctor moved until after they were sure Mel was well out of earshot.

"Jamie!" the Doctor whispered.

"Eh…?"

"Now's our chance to get away!" he said. "If we can make it to our TARDIS, we can get away from this den of horror!"

Jamie nodded, struggling to get to his knees, but fell back to the floor.

"I cannae go on," he said.

"You must! Jamie, you can't give in now!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor," the Scot said, shutting his eyes. "Go on without me—while you still have the chance!"

"I'm not abandoning you!" the Doctor insisted, trying to pull Jamie up by his shoulders. This ultimately failed, resulting in the Doctor collapsing beside him. "Oh, the indignity of it all! After everything we've been through, this is how it ends?"

The main doors of the TARDIS opened, revealing the multicolor-clad Doctor that Jamie recognized from their Androgum misadventure.

"Still as melodramatic as ever, I see?" Peri's Doctor asked.

" _You_!" Jamie's Doctor fumed. "How could you allow this… this…"

"Hoard of metal beasties!" Jamie threw in.

"—To invade the TARDIS!?" Jamie's Doctor finished.

"I hope you aren't insinuating that this was my idea!" Peri's Doctor said. He folded his arms and smirked. "I will say, however, that it is refreshing to see someone else going through this—even if he technically is me."

"If this body was not utterly broken, I'd wipe the smirk off of that one!" Jamie's Doctor hissed. Seething, he tried to get up again, and once again failed and fell back to the floor—only this time, he partly landed on Jamie, who let out a sound akin to a mewling kitten. "I'm so sorry, Jamie…"

"Well, Gentlemen," Peri's Doctor said. "I hope you enjoyed your intergalactic pub-crawl. Contemplate on whether or not it was worth it once Mel returns."

Jamie's Doctor responded with a retort in Gallifreyan.

"You do realize you're only insulting yourself?" Peri's Doctor asked. "Anyway, I've done you both a favor—having recollection of this very moment, I took the liberty of hiding the weights. That's why it's taking her so long to try to find them."

"Bless yer hearts," Jamie sighed. "Now can ye help us back to our TARDIS?"

"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that," Peri's Doctor said. "Because right this moment, dear Mel is on her way here with a bottle of carrot juice. And I intend to put as much distance between it and myself as possible."

"You forget—you have another self still here," Jamie's Doctor hissed.

"Yes, well… Not to worry; your taste buds will recover. Eventually."

"That's it!" Jamie's Doctor snarled. "You are officially _worse_ than the dandy!"

He took a futile swipe at Peri's Doctor, who nimbly stepped back; his hand landed smack on the back of Jamie's head. The piper emitted another pathetic squeak.

"Oh, Jamie…"

His Doctor weakly clung to him.

"Get poor Jamie out of here, at least!" he pleaded.

"I'll nae abandon ye, Doctor…"

"Well, I suppose the least I can do is help him up…" Peri's Doctor sighed. "You are on your own, though."

"I expected as much…"

Jamie sighed as Peri's Doctor helped him up and over to a chair; his Doctor, in the meantime, succeeded in crawling across the floor of the console room to another chair, but could only kneel before it since he couldn't quite get up.

"I meant it when I said that I hoped you enjoyed that pub-crawl," Peri's Doctor said, as he obligingly wiped the sweat off of Jamie's brow with a handkerchief. "I remember it fondly—well, except for this moment."

Jamie smiled weakly and managed a nod, but then sobered as this Doctor's face grew serious.

"Jamie…" he said. "When you last met me… this me, I mean—during the Androgum fiasco… You told me that you had made a promise… a vow of fealty to me, that you would never leave me—my other self." He cast a glance at Jamie's Doctor, who had managed to pull himself up enough to sit down on the chair, and then placed his hands on Jamie's shoulders. "No matter what happens, Jamie… Don't break that vow."

"I would ne'er break that vow," Jamie promised, surprised by this. "Why would ye think I would?"

"There are things I can't explain," he said. "But there are always moments—the darkest of moments—that test us. Just… don't leave him."

"As long as I am breathing, I will nae," Jamie said.

Peri's Doctor nodded, and then paled as he heard Mel's voice.

"I couldn't find the weights," she said, carrying in a tray with glasses and a bottle of carrot juice. "So I decided to bring us all a little drink before we start the next set of exercises… Oh, _there_ you are, Doctor!"

"I was just leaving…" Peri's Doctor began, freezing in his tracks as Mel shoved a glass in his hand and began to pour the orange liquid into it.

"You're just in time to join us, Doctor," Mel grinned, ignoring the look of disgust on his face as she turned to Jamie's Doctor, handing him a glass of the carrot juice. "How fortunate for you!"

"Yes… fortunate…" Peri's Doctor muttered.

Jamie's Doctor gingerly sniffed at the juice and promptly scowled at it. Jamie didn't hold much hope as Mel handed him a glass next; he shut his eyes, held his nose and tried to drink it—and made a noise of disgust.

"Welcome to my world," Peri's Doctor said.

Jamie managed another weak smile and watched as Mel began to argue with Peri's Doctor as he refused to drink the carrot juice. A few moments later, Jamie finally noticed his Doctor waving towards the now-open doors of the TARDIS. Carefully, after making sure that Mel and her Doctor were in too deep of a conversation to notice, Jamie and his Doctor summoned what little remained of their strength and abandoned ship so as to reenter the right TARDIS.

Once this task had been completed, they promptly shut the doors and collapsed again in their console room—which was, thankfully, free of exercise equipment.

Soon, Jamie knew, they would be off again on their next adventure. But, until then, he was perfectly content where he was.

He would always feel content by the Doctor's side.


	30. The Shrine of Names, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 30: Jamie McCrimmon, the Second Doctor, and the Seventh Doctor; part 1 of 4.

Jamie and the Doctor recovered (eventually) from their encounter with Mel and were soon on their way. The Celestial Intervention Agency did get back in touch with them, accepting the navigational issues as the fault of the TARDIS, but also to inform them that there was a temporal disturbance that required their attention in ancient Egypt. That led to the puzzling question as to why they were summoned back to Gallifrey instead.

"If the disturbance is in Egypt, then why—?"

"Jamie, these are the same people who think that you're an unnecessary, primitive life form. Are you really surprised by their stupidity?" the Doctor sighed, as they departed the TARDIS.

"Actually," a third voice said, with a Scottish burr. "It was my idea to bring the two of you here."

Jamie's ears had perked up from the first word the man had said, and he couldn't help but grin as he fully took in the sight of a man with a question-mark sweater-vest and straw hat, and carrying an umbrella.

"Doctor?" Jamie asked.

The man arched an eyebrow.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Because yer the only one on this entire planet who could talk properly," Jamie grinned. "Looks like I finally had enough of an influence on ye!"

"Pity you couldn't have influenced his fashion sense," Jamie's Doctor said, rolling his eyes at the other Doctor's choice of clothing. "What's going on? If the Time Lords are allowing us to break the Laws of Time again, it must be serious."

"Yes, I'm afraid it is," the other Doctor said. "Do you remember the other Time Lord you met during the fiasco with the War Lords?"

"The War Chief?" Jamie's Doctor asked. "But he's dead!"

"Not quite," the other Doctor said. "It turns out he had a delayed regeneration—of course, by the time the High Council realized it…"

"Oh, crumbs…" Jamie's Doctor sighed. "And I suppose the High Council, though the Celestial Intervention Agency, wishes to have us find him? You said he was in Egypt; why bring Jamie and myself along when you could handle it yourself?"

"Because of the War Chief's demands," the other Doctor said. "He wants to see you, specifically, ever since he learned that your own sentence was suspended. Unfinished business, it seems. I tried to tell him that he could just as well deal with me, but he was most insistent upon seeing you again."

"Of course…" Jamie's Doctor sighed.

"And he's sent me to fetch you, ensuring that I do so by holding my current companion—Ace—hostage in the Shrine of Names, just outside of Thebes."

"Oh, dear… Well, that just won't do. I'll have to meet with the War Chief."

"Ye cannae meet the War Chief!" Jamie exclaimed. "He'll kill ye! …Or make ye regenerate, at least… And I don' want that to happen!"

"That's just what I expected you to say," Ace's Doctor said. "So, I can count on your help, Jamie?"

"Anything ye need me to do, I'll do it."

" _Anything_?" Ace's Doctor asked.

"Aye."

Ace's Doctor now exchanged a glance with Jamie's Doctor.

"Oh, no!" Jamie's Doctor insisted. "Absolutely not! I forbid it!"

"If memory serves me correctly, I know that Jamie does a spot-on impression of your voice," Ace's Doctor said. "All he needs is to borrow your wardrobe and a wig—"

Jamie's eyes widened.

"Ye want me to impersonate him!?"

"We can't risk either one of me meeting with the War Chief!" Ace's Doctor said. "And yet, we must save Ace!"

"No, no, no, no, _no_!" Jamie's Doctor fumed, flailing his arms. "The War Chief won't be fooled by a disguise!"

"He will be by this one," Ace's Doctor said, with a smirk. "I'll have a perception filter all set up. There's just one thing we need from you in all of this."

"What?" Jamie's Doctor hissed.

Ace's Doctor pulled out a pair of scissors.

"A lock of your hair. I would use mine, but it's a different color."

" _What_!?"

"The War Chief is in the Shrine of Names; do you understand the gravity of what that means!?"

"I… Oh. _Oh_!" Jamie's Doctor's eyes widened. "The War Chief knows our true name—he can verify a person's name in the Shrine of Names with a lock of a person's hair!"

"Then you agree?"

"No!" he retorted. "I would rather go face him myself than put Jamie in any danger!"

"And I'd rather go than see ye in any danger," Jamie said.

"The plan is foolproof," Ace's Doctor insisted. "I've gotten permission from the Pharaoh to destroy the Shrine of Names—he'll deny it publically, though, but he agrees that there are some people whose names should remain secret. All we need to do is get Ace out of the shrine—she'll handle the rest! And with a little bit of luck, the War Chief will be caught in the shrine when it goes up."

"Goes… up?" Jamie asked.

"I'll explain on the way, Jamie," Ace's Doctor said. "We'll go in my TARDIS—it's right over there."

"Now wait just a minute!" Jamie's Doctor fumed. "What about me!?"

"Oh, right…"

Ace's Doctor walked over to him, seized a few strands of his hair, and cut them with the scissors before he could protest.

"Try to keep up," he said, drawing an arm around Jamie and leading him to his TARDIS. "Or you can stay here; we'll be back once we get Ace."

Jamie looked back at his Doctor and gave him an innocent shrug.

"Crumbs," he quoted, in an echo of his voice.

"You little…"

The thought unfinished, Jamie's Doctor scurried back inside his TARDIS, fully intending to follow them.

"I expected as much," Ace's Doctor mused.

"I hope he won' be too angry with me."

"Oh, not to worry; it's impossible for any of us to stay angry with you for very long—him especially. We were always very fond of you."

Jamie just smiled in reply; after all, he was very fond of all of them, too.


	31. The Shrine of Names, part II

Jamie took a moment to admire the interior of Ace's Doctor's TARDIS.

"I see ye got rid of all the metal beasties that Mel brought in…"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor chuckled. "Ace and I certainly had no use for them; I jettisoned them all into the nearest black hole."

"That's where they belong," Jamie insisted, watching as the Doctor set the course for New Kingdom Egypt. He also kept an eye on the viewscreen, seeing his Doctor's TARDIS on their tail as they arrived.

"I feel bad for leaving him behind like that…"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Ace's Doctor said, nonchalantly. "He may gripe about it for some time, but he'll get over it. You know how I was like at that age."

"Ye used to be happier… before the trial."

"Well, naturally…"

"I miss the way it was before," Jamie said. "When we could be off to where'er the TARDIS led us. I di'n say anything, but when ye changed the navigation systems so that the Time Lords could nae track us, it felt, for a moment, like the old days… Going on that unintended skiing holiday and throwing snowballs at each other—and Turlough, too… And then that pub-crawl we did…"

Ace's Doctor looked to him now.

"I miss those days," Jamie finished.

"I always missed those days, too, Jamie. If you told my younger self that, he'd say—"

"How can I tell him that?" Jamie asked, placing a hand on the TARDIS console. "I know that my being there is the only thing that makes it bearable. If he thinks I'm nae happy…"

"Are you?"

"I am happy," Jamie promised. "I cannae imagine my life without ye. I just wish we did nae have the Time Lords looking over our shoulders all the time. It's nae fair, what they did—ye were only trying to help people—save them from the War Chief and the War Lords… And then they just took Zoe and me away and put a brand on ye. It was four days for me—before I saw ye again. I ne'er did find oot how long it was for ye."

"Fifty years," Ace's Doctor said, a faraway look in his eyes. "The longest fifty years of my life. Aside from a few meetings with the Brigadier, I spent that time alone."

Jamie looked determinedly at the wall.

"But that time is over," the Doctor continued. "The important thing now is that you don't leave him."

Jamie blinked, looking back at him.

"That's what Peri's Doctor said—when we ran into Mel. And now ye're saying it, too. Why? Why are ye telling me nae to leave?"

The Doctor looked away, and this didn't help Jamie at all.

"I thought it was strange when Peri's Doctor said it. But now that ye're saying it, too, I know something is verra wrong—or _will_ be verra wrong. Well, ye may as well know… I don' want to leave ye—the younger ye. I know I'm the one helping him get through all that the Time Lords are putting him through. I don' know what dark secrets ye have, but ye seem to be afraid that once I found oot aboot them, I'll leave."

"If that's what you want to believe…"

"Why else would ye be afraid of my leaving?" Jamie asked. "Peri's Doctor mentioned something aboot dark moments… Are ye going to turn into an Androgum again? Or some other beastie? Because even then, I won' leave ye."

He followed Ace's Doctor as he led him to the wardrobe and found the set of clothes that Jamie's Doctor used to wear, along with the wig and the perception filter, which was in the form of a medallion.

"Or is it because of this?" Jamie asked. "That ye're always keeping me in the dark and not telling me things I want to know? Do ye think I would just get fed up with it and leave? Because I would nae leave for that, either. I don' like it when ye keep me in the dark. But if there's something ye're nae telling me, I know there's a good reason for it. So ye can see, then, can't ye? I won' leave him."

"Good," Ace's Doctor said, handing him the clothes and then leaving the room. "Then we've nothing to worry about, do we?"

Jamie considered this for a moment and then realized that he had a point. Sighing, he changed into his disguise, and then placed the perception filter around his neck before returning to the console room, where his Doctor now paced, fretting and fuming at Ace's Doctor.

Jamie cleared his throat, causing his Doctor to glance at him—and then do a double take.

"Oh, my word…"

"And you thought he couldn't pull it off," Ace's Doctor tutted.

"Alright, perhaps this idea does have something to it. What made you think of it?"

"The Rani tried impersonating Mel shortly after my last regeneration."

Jamie's Doctor cringed.

"Who's the Rani?" Jamie asked.

"Another one of my old school friends," his Doctor said.

"Quite the evil genius," Ace's Doctor intoned.

"…Why is it all of yer old school friends end up going mad and evil?" Jamie asked. "First Koschei, and now—"

"That will do," Jamie's Doctor said. "And please don't talk like that! It's most disconcerting to hear your voice out of my mouth!"

Jamie shrugged.

"You remember what I told you?" Ace's Doctor asked, handing him Ace's bag and the lock of the younger Doctor's hair.

Jamie nodded.

"Aye; get this to Ace, and…" He glanced at his Doctor as he facepalmed. Suppressing a chuckle, Jamie launched into his imitation. "Of course I know what I'm doing."

"Now that's more like it," Ace's Doctor said.

"Before you go blundering off…" Jamie's Doctor said. "Take this with you. You and Ace may need to make a quick getaway—especially with the War Chief involved."

"The Stattenheim?!" Jamie exclaimed, slipping into his real voice for a moment. "Ye're trusting me to use the Stattenheim—and pilot the TARDIS, to boot?"

" _Don't_ get used to it," he insisted. "I don't like the idea of anyone other than myself piloting the Old Girl… But, the truth of the matter is that I dislike the thought of you not coming back even more."

Jamie clutched at the Stattenheim.

"I've set the console on the other TARDIS to bring you next to this one once you throw the switch," Jamie's Doctor continued. "Good luck."

Jamie nodded and, after pocketing the Stattenheim and readjusting the bow tie, exited the TARDIS.

As he left, he could've sworn he heard his Doctor ask, "…Do I _really_ walk like that?"

Jamie just smirked and decided to let Ace's Doctor handle that.


	32. The Shrine of Names, part III

It wasn't too far a walk to the Shrine of Names, but it was far enough that the Stattenheim would certainly be useful in a pinch. Jamie steeled himself as he entered, once again slipping into his flawless impression of his Doctor.

"Hallo?" he called, as he wandered down the stone corridor, lit by small oil-lamps along the floor. "Ace? Ace, are you here?"

"Welcome, Doctor," a voice spoke from up ahead.

Jamie quickened his pace until he reached an antechamber. A man he didn't recognize stood before a pedestal with a golden water-bowl upon it. A girl in a black jacket was slumped against the wall.

"Ace!"

Jamie knew it had to be her; she seemed to be alright as he checked up on her—just unconscious. He quickly found the Doctor's bottle of smelling salts in one of the pockets of the suit jacket and brought her around.

"Where is he!?" she fumed, attempting to get to her feet.

"Easy, Ace, easy…" Jamie said, helping her up. "Are you hurt?"

"No, but _he_ will be," she promised, glaring at the regenerated War Chief. "Out of my way, Beatles Hair!"

Jamie blinked, wondering what that meant, but continued to hold her back.

"Now, you leave him to me; this is between myself and him," he said, handing her the bag that her Doctor had given him, and added in an undertone, "You take care of everything else."

Ace's eyes widened slightly in understanding as Jamie now turned to face the War Chief, who was observing the both of them.

"You are to let her leave, as was agreed," Jamie ordered. "I am here, as you demanded."

"Are you really, Doctor?" the War Chief asked.

Jamie merely responded by cutting off a few strands of the wig he was wearing, and then using sleight of hand to replace them with the lock of his Doctor's hair that Ace's Doctor had cut. He walked up to the pedestal and placed the hair inside the golden water-bowl. The hairs shimmered for a moment before forming a set of hieroglyphs—the Doctor's true name. The hieroglyphs then became etched into a fragment of glass that floated on top of the water until Jamie took it and held it up to the War Chief.

"Does that satisfy you?"

The War Chief glanced at the hieroglyphs and nodded.

"Ace, go—please!" Jamie said, not taking his eyes off of the War Chief

He heard her footsteps, hoping that she would accomplish whatever it is that her Doctor knew she was capable of.

"Still showing concern for those humans, I see?" the War Chief tutted.

Jamie scowled as he placed the glass fragment with the Doctor's name into his pocket.

"It's going to lead to your downfall, Doctor. You know it already has. Look at yourself now—an attack dog for our fellow Time Lords because you couldn't do what needed to be done and abandoned those two human pets of yours!"

"This has nothing to do with them!" Jamie said, though the words made his heart twist. "If I hadn't gotten involved with your mad scheme—"

"Don't try to shift the blame onto me, Doctor," the War Chief smirked. "You know that if those two hadn't delayed your getaway, you would have outrun the Time Lords long before they ever reached there."

Jamie's hand was beginning to tremble, and he clenched it into a fist.

"And just now, when I took the girl captive—your seventh self immediately fulfilled my request for you to come here. How has it come to this, that you would bury your pride—the pride of our race—for those primitives?!"

"What's the point of all of this!?" Jamie fumed, coming close to accidentally slipping to his Scottish burr.

"The point, Doctor, is that I am offering you a chance for your freedom. Work with me—abandon the humans. We can take over the High Council with help from Koschei and Ushas—Gallifrey will be ours!"

"And if I refuse?"

"You would make things very difficult for me, and that cannot be allowed. But that is not what you wish; I know you. You cherished your freedom above all else, and that was taken from you because of those humans. No corner of space and time would be off-limits to you. Why attach yourself to those humans? They are but mayflies compared to us. In the grand scheme of the universe, what are humans to a Time Lord? _Nothing_."

"How's _this_ for nothing!?" Ace suddenly yelled.

Jamie and the War Chief both turned to see Ace lobbing something at the back of the chamber wall.

"Run, Beatles Hair!"

As the War Chief turned towards the back wall to see what it was that Ace had thrown, Jamie turned and ran, grabbing Ace's hand as something exploded in the back of the chamber.

As they fled, she lobbed a second whatever-it-was at the front end of the chamber, which also went up.

The walls began to crack and crumble as they ran.

"The whole shrine is collapsing!" Jamie exclaimed, in his normal voice.

"Well, yeah—wait, who _are_ you!?"

"Eh?" Jamie asked. "Oh. I'm—"

"Tell me when we get out!" Ace said, as they dodged a large chunk of falling ceiling.

After several tense moments, they both made it outside, and Jamie quickly activated the Stattenheim remote control.

"What was that!?" he asked, as they retreated to the safety of the TARDIS, which began to dematerialize.

"Nitro Nine. Now just who are you?"

Jamie sighed, removing the wig.

"Ohhh…" Ace said, grinning with recognition. "Jim!"

"…Jamie."

"Same thing," she said, with a wave of her hand. "I have to say, you impersonate Beatles Hair pretty well."

" _Beatles Hair_!?" Jamie asked, staring at the wig. "There are nae any bugs in the Doctor's hair!"

"…Oh, right—guess you wouldn't know, would you? The Professor will explain it to you."

Jamie was just about to ask her who "the Professor" was when the TARDIS arrived. Ace disembarked first, followed by a very confused Jamie.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Jamie's Doctor exclaimed, relief etched into the lines on his face. "You're both alright! How did it go?"

"Perfectly," Ace said, grinning at her Doctor. "Maybe now you'll let me carry more Nitro Nine more often?"

"There doesn't seem to be any point in whether or not I tell you to…" her Doctor mused, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Jamie, thank you for your help."

"Och, it was nothing."

"But what did the War Chief want with me, Jamie?" his Doctor asked. "I'm still not very clear on that."

"He was just blowing smoke—trying to get you join him," Ace said, as Jamie looked away, recalling how the War Chief had said that he was responsible for the Doctor's capture and current service for the Time Lords. "Anyway, it doesn't matter; he never made it out of the shrine, and it's collapsed now."

Ace's Doctor and Jamie's Doctor exchanged glances.

"Then it's only just a matter of time…" Jamie's Doctor said, gripping Jamie by the shoulder.

"Until what?" Ace asked.

"Regeneration," her Doctor said. "…And there he goes. It's far from over."

The four of them could only stare and watch as a stream of golden light shot towards the sky, over the point where the Shrine of Names had once stood.


	33. The Shrine of Names, part IV

"What do we do, Doctor?" Jamie asked.

"It's difficult to say," his Doctor admitted. "For the next fifteen hours, he's going to be invincible."

"…That's not good," Ace stated.

"But he'll be severely disoriented by the post-regeneration trauma," he added.

"Okay, that's better."

"We'll make a run for it in my TARDIS," Ace's Doctor said. "Set the HADS on yours and make sure you've got hold of the Stattenheim."

"Right…" Jamie's Doctor ran back inside to set the HADS, and then he, Jamie, Ace, and Ace's Doctor all got inside the other TARDIS.

"All we need to do is outrun him until his SIDRAT loses power," Jamie's Doctor said, now trying to work the controls of this TARDIS. "If I remember correctly, those things were rather limited in their capabilities…"

"Do you mind…?" Ace's Doctor said, taking over the controls. Jamie's Doctor scowled in response, but said nothing.

The TARDIS soon took off, with both Doctors pacing the console room.

"Do ye think he's following us?" Jamie asked.

"Probably," Ace's Doctor sighed.

"We need to find some abandoned planet to lead him to—somewhere where he'll be absolutely stranded once his SIDRAT loses power," Jamie's Doctor mused.

"Preferably somewhere cold—," Ace's Doctor began, but was cut off as something massive slammed into the side of the TARDIS, sending all of them falling to the floor.

"You were dead on about that 'severely disoriented' bit," Ace commented, wincing. "He can't even see us flying in front of him!"

"I'm afraid he can—he's out of it enough to think that ramming our TARDIS with his SIDRAT will work!" her Doctor said.

"Can he break the TARDIS like that?" Jamie asked.

"No," the Doctor said. "But it could force the doors open—and you know what happens if we're in the Vortex at that moment!"

Jamie's eyes widened, recalling all too well the fate that had befallen Salamander all those years ago. Ace's Doctor had no desire for a repeat of that, either; he rushed back to the console and set a course. He was interrupted as the SIDRAT rammed them again, causing Jamie's Doctor to cling to both Jamie and Ace as Ace's Doctor got back up again. The TARDIS materialized, but was still in flight.

"We're flying over the surface of a terrestrial planet—average temperature negative three degrees centigrade, with nearly daily snowfall," he announced. "Uninhabited."

"Perfect place to leave him, then," Jamie's Doctor said.

Jamie and Ace exchanged glances, and they both yelped as they were struck again.

"This is getting to be too much!" Ace fumed, reaching for her bag.

"Just what are you planning!?" Jamie's Doctor asked.

"Nitro Nine at his SIDRAT will take care of him," she declared. "If someone can just open the doors…"

"Not you!" her Doctor said, sternly. "We can't risk you falling out of the TARDIS in the process; I'll do it!"

"At _your_ age?" Jamie's Doctor scoffed. "I should hardly think so!"

"This could take all day…" Jamie said, running a hand through his hair.

"And we don't have the time for that, do we?" Ace said, handing him a canister of Nitro Nine.

"What do ye want me to do with this?"

"Well, it's either you or me who's going to have to do this," she said, indicating the two Doctors arguing. "I'm willing to be the one to chuck it out there, if you'd prefer…"

"No… I'd better do it; yer Doctor just said for ye nae to throw it."

"As if _you_ listen to everything Beatles Hair tells you?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Fair enough," Jamie sighed. "Aye—show me what to do, and then open the doors."

After quickly explaining the detonation process to him, Ace quietly crept towards the console while Jamie edged towards the doors.

"Now!"

Both Doctors looked up in time to see Ace open the doors and Jamie hurl the Nitro Nine out at the SIDRAT, which was charging at them for another strike.

Due to their proximity, the ensuing explosion forced both the TARDIS and the SIDRAT apart; the TARDIS lurched violently, knocking Jamie off of his feet. Ace and both of the Doctors were calling his name before he hit the wall and all went dark.

* * *

When Jamie came to, he found himself buried up to his waist in snow. After several futile attempts to free himself, the Scot began to panic, looking around for the others.

"Doctors!?" he called. "Ace!?"

There was no sign of the TARDIS—only large snowbanks, much like the one he was stuck in.

The damaged SIDRAT, however, was visible a few feet away; the Nitro Nine had put it completely out of commission, and the War Chief, now with yet another new face, has just managed to extract himself from it.

Jamie didn't move a muscle, but the War Chief spotted him nonetheless.

"You…!" the War Chief sneered. He attempted to get closer to Jamie, but was still too loopy from his regeneration; he collapsed, his hand outstretched, making futile attempts to reach the Scot.

Jamie relaxed slightly, but only just—he still had to find out what happened to the others. He called for them again.

"Once again, you lead the Doctor into trouble and expect him to be concerned over you?" the War Chief sneered.

"I di'n see him opening his TARDIS to ye," Jamie shot back. "I've been thinking aboot what ye said in the Shrine of Names—aboot me and Zoe being responsible for the Doctor being put on trial. If the Doctor blamed me, he would nae have gone through the trouble of getting me back so that I could travel with him again!"

"Keep fooling yourself," the War Chief sneered. "The Doctor has always been a man of deceit—I have known him far longer than you. He abandoned all of his connections on Gallifrey—what makes you—a mere human—so special?"

Jamie stared.

"The… the Doctor cares for me," he stated. "We care for each other…"

"Yes; he cares about you so much that he thinks nothing of replacing you with another! When one mayfly dies, he merely places another in its old bottle!"

Jamie looked away; the words hurt. All of the other companions… one after another, just like him, they were replaced.

"He… he cannae help outliving us," the Scot said, desperate to win this argument. "He should nae be alone! He'd be so lonely… If he could keep us all, he would."

"To assume what the Doctor may be thinking is an impossible task," the War Chief hissed. "I told you, he is a man of lies and deceit."

"I trust him," Jamie said. "He's looked after me for so long without any ulterior motive. If he hides the truth from me, it's for my own good."

"You trust him—foolishly so," the War Chief smirked. "But does _he_ trust _you_?"

"Of course he trusts me!" Jamie said. "He told his past self that he trusts me with all of his lives—I was there."

"How do you know that wasn't all theatrics for your advantage?" the War Chief asked. "He has his reasons for gaining your trust—so that you can be of use to him in his mad schemes. You trusted him when he pretended to work with me and the War Lords—"

"Aye, because he really was nae working for ye!"

"He was banking on your faith in him so that he could betray me—you and your friend were pawns! Why _wouldn't_ he want a pawn as useful as you back? You blindly listen to every word he says—an invaluable slave, conditioned to obey!"

"Now ye're talking like that Earth for the Earthlings Society!" Jamie scowled. "He's only e'er treated me with kindness—"

"Because it's easier to depend on a pawn you know will not betray you. Ask him personal questions about his past. Ask for his name. You won't get any answers from him."

Jamie couldn't reply, this time—the Doctor always did try to avoid talking about his past. There were things—important things—that he didn't tell him. Was it really because the Doctor didn't trust him?

He was spared, however, from hearing any more of the War Chief's taunts—he suddenly fell backwards into the snowbank, crying out as he landed smack on the floor of the TARDIS. Looking up, he saw both of the Doctors and Ace with shovels in their hands; clearly, they had been looking for him—trying to dig their way out of the buried TARDIS.

"Jamie…!" his Doctor exclaimed, throwing the shovel aside and hugging him. "Oh thank goodness!"

"You, alright, Jim?" Ace asked. "I had no idea he was that close to us; I shouldn't have…"

"What's done is done, Ace," her Doctor said. "The important thing is that Jamie is alright."

"War Chief…" the Scot mumbled. "Right outside…"

The Doctors didn't waste any time; Jamie's Doctor helped him away from the doors as Ace's Doctor closed them. The TARDIS soon dematerialized again, reappearing back in Egypt, beside the other TARDIS.

"Well," Jamie's Doctor sighed. "That's that over with. I suppose Jamie and I should set the continuum right by returning to our timestreams…"

"I should probably change back into my old clothes," Jamie mused, seeing that he was still dressed in his Doctor's suit.

"Yes, you do that," the Doctor said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Jamie quietly headed back to the wardrobe and changed back into his regular clothes, his mind still muddled from his conversation with the War Chief.

Did the Doctor truly not trust him—even if it was subconscious? It was true—even though he hated to admit it…

"Why won' ye tell me things…?" Jamie asked, quietly. "I only want to help ye… I want ye to trust me…"

Jamie trailed off, hearing a clinking sound as he placed the Doctor's suit jacket on the wardrobe floor. He blinked, and he picked up the jacket again, reached into the pocket, and pulled out two pieces of glass from within it. It was the glass fragment from the Shrine of Names—only it had broken into two pieces from all the turbulence of the TARDIS. But the hieroglyphs were still visible.

"…The Doctor's name…" Jamie whispered.

It would be so easy, he realized, to go to the TARDIS library and look up what the hieroglyphs meant—find out the name for himself…

Jamie suddenly snapped back to reality.

"What am I doing…!?" he gasped.

He hurled the two pieces of glass against the wall of the wardrobe, where they shattered into smaller pieces.

"Jamie!?" his Doctor asked, hearing the shattering glass. "Jamie, are you alright!? Answer me!"

"I'm fine, Doctor!" the Scot asked, stepping out of the wardrobe. "There was just some glass in one of yer old pockets. I think I broke it."

The Doctor glanced at the glass shards.

"Yes, I would say so," he mused.

Jamie managed a smile.

"I think you'd better say goodbye to Ace and my other self; we need to get back to Gallifrey… for our next mission. Or to see if we even have another mission." The Doctor sighed. "I am sorry, Jamie…"

But Jamie just placed a hand on his Doctor's shoulder.

"As long as we're together," he said. He hesitated, and then suddenly hugged his Doctor again.

The Doctor seemed surprised, but returned the embrace.

"I'm glad you're alright, too," he said, with a chuckle. His gaze fell on the glass shards, his eyes narrowing as he saw the hieroglyphs on the shards.

"Jamie…" he said. "What did the War Chief tell you?"

Jamie still clung to his arm as he looked over at the Doctor, and he shook his head slightly.

"…It does nae matter now," he said, with a smile.

And he meant it; it didn't matter whether the Doctor trusted him or not. The Doctor still cared for him.


	34. A Sticky Situation, pt I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 34: Jamie McCrimmon and the Eighth Doctor; part 1 of 2.

It transpired that the Celestial Intervention Agency did not have any further missions for the Doctor and Jamie. With the navigation circuits altered by the Doctor, the other Time Lords still could not track them.

Even so, Jamie seemed to be rather subdued—and had been that way ever since their encounter with the War Chief. The Doctor was furious with the War Chief—he knew he had said _something_ to upset Jamie, and the Scot, who usually discussed everything with the Doctor, wasn't saying a word. It pained the Doctor to know that—as well as made him curious as to why Jamie didn't want to tell him.

He had considered thought telepathy to look into Jamie's mind and find out that way, but he couldn't bring himself to do it—no more than Jamie could've brought himself to decipher the hieroglyphs of the Doctor's name on that now-shattered bit of glass.

That decided, the Doctor did his best to try to lift Jamie's spirits.

"Would you like to try another pub-crawl, Jamie?" he offered, hoping that would put a smile on his face.

Jamie certainly did perk up at the mention of that.

"Aye, but… can ye be sure we will nae run into Mel again?"

"We'll stick to one city this time—on Earth," the Doctor grinned, pleased to see that his idea was working. "Let's see… where shall we go?"

"Scotland," Jamie said, immediately. "Ye'll ne'er find the best ale anywhere else in the galaxy; och, it looks like gold itself melted into liquid."

"I should have known that was coming," the Doctor sighed, setting the console, and then standing back as they dematerialized and rematerialized. "Alright, then, Scotland it is…!"

He opened the doors of the TARDIS, and stared at a sign that read "Fisherman's Wharf of San Francisco," which was illuminated by bright lights that gleamed in the night.

"This is nae Scotland," Jamie said, pointing to the sign, as they stepped outside.

"Yes, I… I'm so sorry, Jamie; it seems the TARDIS…. Well…"

"She's got a mind of her own; aye, I know. I've been telling ye that for years…"

He trailed off, hearing a woman's voice call out.

"Doctor!?" she called, in an American accent. "Doctor, I've got things to do—I can't go running around after alien spiders if you're going to disappear, too! Where'd you go!?"

"…If you'll excuse me, Jamie, I think someone wishes to know my whereabouts," the Doctor sighed. "You wait here."

Jamie threw his hands up in exasperation as the Doctor wandered off in search of the woman. He was pondering going back inside the TARDIS when a man in a Victorian-era suit stumbled by, pausing to look at the TARDIS.

"That's not where I left you…" he mumbled, pulling a key from his pocket. He moved towards the door, but paused as he saw Jamie standing in front of the doors. "Excuse me, Jamie…"

The Scot obeyed, and the man had placed a hand on the doors when he paused again as he realized who he had just spoken to. He turned, his face a few inches from Jamie's.

"… _Jamie_ …!?"

"Doctor…?" Jamie ventured.

The man's eyes widened, and, as his face split into a grin, he hugged the Scot.

"Jamie!" he exclaimed again. "I can't believe it! …Though, after the day I had, I probably should."

"What happened?" Jamie asked, as he good-naturedly hugged the Doctor back.

"…It's a long story…" this Doctor said. "It started with San Francisco being invaded by a small group of Eight Legs this morning…"

"Eight Legs?" Jamie asked. "Och, ye mean wee spiders? How much harm can they do?"

"They're not exactly wee spiders," the Doctor said. "They're… well…"

He indicated the large strands of webbing that were draped all over the wharf; Jamie hadn't noticed them upon his arrival.

"They're large spiders—with the power to control the minds of other creatures," he finished.

"And they made that!?" Jamie exclaimed.

"Actually, that's the work of just one—the current leader. I… took care of the original leader some time ago. I think this one has sought me out for revenge, and brought some other survivors along."

"Och… So what are ye going to do?"

"I'm trying to look for my companion, Grace; I met her once when I was here—it was a mad New Year's Eve, let me tell you…" he said. "And when I came back to deal with the Eight Legs, Grace agreed to help. We were visiting a man who owns an antique shop in town—he knew some old lore about how to stop giant spiders, but…"

"But, what…?"

"When I told him I was a Gallifreyan, he chased me out of his shop with a pufferfish. Grace said she would get the information for me…" The Doctor trailed off, going pale. "Grace… I forgot about Grace! I left her in the shop when I saw one of the Eight Legs come this way!"

"Oh, that must have been the lassie who was calling for ye a li'l while ago—just before ye turned up. My Doctor went to look for her—thinking she was calling for him!"

Grace's Doctor winced.

"How annoyed did she sound?"

"Aboot as annoyed as she looks now," Jamie said, looking past the Doctor's shoulder.

Jamie's Doctor was standing sheepishly beside a redheaded woman, who had her arms folded as she glared at her Doctor.

"Jamie…" Grace's Doctor said, with a nervous smile. "I'd like you to meet Dr. Grace Holloway."


	35. A Sticky Situation, pt II

Jamie gave a shy wave to Grace, who waved back as she continued to glance at her Doctor.

"For future reference," she said. "If we're being invaded by alien spiders, it's generally not a good idea to advertise that you're an alien, too. I don't know what you were hoping for when you were giving that antique dealer your so-called 'credentials,' but not everyone takes to that well."

"Yes. Yes, I'm… I'm aware of that."

"And another thing," Grace added, indicating Jamie's Doctor. "Why was it that when I was looking for you, I found the fifth Beatle instead?"

"Och, I'm tired of this," Jamie muttered. "My Doctor is nae an insect!"

"Not that kind of beetle, Jamie," Grace's Doctor said. "And Grace? Do you remember me telling you that I have thirteen lives?"

"Kinda hard to forget that…"

"He was my second."

"What…"

"Yes, that's right," Jamie's Doctor said. "As you can see, my dress sense tends to get worse with age. You'll have to excuse the old man—he's quite forgotten the sense of style he used to have when he was me." He shook her hand, warmly. "Hello, my dear."

Grace gave him a long stare before looking back to her Doctor.

"How…?"

"How is it possible?" her Doctor finished for her. "Well, admittedly, we are breaking the First Law of Time by being in the same place. Again."

"This happens often?" Grace asked.

"Alas, yes," Jamie's Doctor sighed. "But, I suppose, anything is better than meeting the dandy."

"Speaking of him," Grace's Doctor said. "We'd best deal with these Eight Legs before they succeed in getting their vengeance over what he did to their previous leader."

"So, even without him here, he's still making things difficult?" Jamie's Doctor scowled, glaring at the strands of webbing. "Typical!"

"Yeah, about that," Grace said. "That antique dealer said that the best bet we had was to lure the spiders to the bay and into the deep water."

"We wouldn't need to lead all of them; just the current queen," Grace's Doctor said. "Unfortunately, she'll be the largest of them all."

"How do ye lure a giant beastie to go anywhere?" Jamie asked.

"I've only got one idea, and I don't like it," Grace said.

"Aye, what's that?"

Before she could answer, her Doctor suddenly whistled as loudly as he could, prompting Grace to cringe.

"Live bait," she said, as something large and multi-legged began to emerge from the shadows.

Jamie's Doctor now drew a protective arm around Jamie and Grace.

"When I say run, run," he said, as the spider came into view.

"So… what are you waiting for?" Grace asked.

"Well said. Run!"

The four of them fled down the wharf as the spider lumbered after them. The spider invasion had caused the normally crowded wharf to be almost deserted. Grace's Doctor indicated a small fishing boat that had been docked; they clambered on board, huddling together on the deck as the spider approached.

"Don't be frightened," Jamie's Doctor instructed.

"Frightened?" Grace repeated in an incredulous whisper. "I met a man from outer space who has two hearts. I watched him die in front of my eyes and turn up the next morning in a whole new body. I had to help him save the space-time continuum from his old school buddy. He went away in his blue time machine and came back because we're being invaded by space arachnids. And now, I meet his past self—who looks like he spent _way_ too much time in the Sixties—along with some guy in a kilt, who looks like he came right out of _Braveheart_! I am not frightened, Doctor; I'm too busy trying to figure out exactly what point my life became a B movie!"

Her Doctor smiled.

"Now you know why I asked for her help."

"Quite," Jamie's Doctor agreed.

One of the spider's legs suddenly landed right beside their boat, knocking them aside a few inches. Jamie and his Doctor clung to each other as the spider stepped into the water.

"This is too easy," Grace whispered. "It can't be that stupid."

"Why hasn't it spoken?" her Doctor mused. "Could it be of a lower intelligence than the Great One?"

As if to answer his question, a number of smaller spiders—smaller in relation to the current queen, that is—began to swarm the fishing boat. Grace swore and kicked at one that approached her, and Jamie was about to grab for his knife when the queen spider now attacked the boat, tipping it over.

Jamie now cried out—not because of the spiders, but because of the fact that he couldn't swim. He flailed helplessly once he was under the water, trying to avoid the spiders that were going past him.

Someone grabbed ahold of him and helped him to the surface; as he gasped for breath, out of sheer instinct, he clung to his rescuer.

"Okay, okay; you're welcome!" Grace exclaimed.

Jamie's eyes snapped opened as he realized what had happened.

"Och, thank ye… But where are the Doctors!?"

"I don't know!" she said, looking around. "Can they swim?!"

"Aye; my Doctor can—yers should able to, too."

"That won't help them if those spiders get them first," Grace said. "We need to get that big one away from the shallows and into the deeper water, where it'll be trapped. But even if we try to lure it out, it won't go any further…"

"Look!" Jamie exclaimed.

Both of the Doctors had now clambered onto the underside of the now-capsized fishing boat, using their Sonic Screwdrivers to try and hold off the smaller spiders. The queen, however, was now turning her attention to them. And Jamie could see the distraction in his Doctor's eyes as he cast nervous glances at the water, not knowing where Jamie had ended up.

"They won' stand a chance!" Jamie said, trying to windmill his arms, as though that could take him towards the Doctors.

"That's not going to help them!" Grace chided, holding him back. "We can't help them if we just go in there without a plan. If only there was some way we could force that thing out into the deeper water…" She trailed off, staring at some of the other boats docked nearby. "That's it…"

"What? What!?"

"I know how we can help them," she said. "That boat over there belongs to my ex-boyfriend, Brian. I still have a key."

"How will that help us?" Jamie asked.

"If we can tie the rope on board to one of the spider's legs…"

Jamie's eyes widened.

"Aye…!"

"But you're going to have to be underwater while we approach the boat; you can't be seen. I'll help you."

Jamie hesitated, but one glance at the Doctors, who were staring up at the spider that was almost upon them, settled his doubts. He nodded.

Slipping the rope onto the spider's leg was simpler than they had anticipated; the spider already had several thick strands of webbing around her legs, and one bit of rope seemed to go unnoticed.

It was getting on board Brian's boat that proved to be more difficult; the smaller spiders, realizing that their queen desired to deal with the Doctors herself, began to attack Jamie and Grace as they got on board.

"Hold them off!" Grace called, as she attempted to start the boat.

Jamie responded with his battle cry, stabbing at the spiders as they approached; it was loud enough for the Doctors to hear. Seeing the relief in his Doctor's face, despite the queen's chelicerae gnashing only inches from his head, gave Jamie the drive he needed to hold them off until the engine finally turned over.

"Yes!" Grace exclaimed, her eyes alight.

Jamie held on as the boat sped off towards the deeper water; it nearly jerked to a stop as the rope ran out, but, slowly but steadily, it began to tow the Eight Legs queen behind it. The spider thrashed violently; more than once, the boat nearly was overturned by the queen's efforts, but Grace continued to drive the boat further out into the water.

The smaller spiders had begun to fall away as the boat picked up speed; Jamie took care of the last ones on board as a thought occurred to him.

"Grace?" he called. "How do we get rid of the beastie?"

"Cut the rope!"

Jamie did so; suddenly deprived of its payload, the boat lurched forward, knocking the Scot off of his feet. Grace slowed the boat down and then went back to check on Jamie.

"Are you alright?"

"Aye," the piper said, with a wan smile. "Ye know, ye're a clever lassie."

"Believe it or not, this was easier than some of the things I had to do in med school," she sighed, going back to the controls to bring the boat back to the wharf.

Jamie didn't understand what that meant, but he nodded anyway.

"What about you?" Grace asked.

"The Great Intelligence was worse than this," the Scot agreed. "The Doctor and I have seen a lot worse than this, actually."

"The way you talk, it's like you've been traveling with him for years."

"I have—for thirteen years."

" _What_?" Grace asked. "You just left everything behind and ran off with him?"

"Aye. Di'n ye?"

"No," she said, through a laugh. "He asked me to go with him, but I had to turn down the invitation. …You've really been traveling with him for thirteen years?"

"They've been the most wonderful thirteen years of my life," Jamie said. "Aye, I'll admit it's dangerous. And some days, it's really bad. And being forced to go on missions for the Time Lords is nae fun—they always love bossing us around. But the good days… Och, I live for those days—just the Doctor and me, in the TARDIS, going where'er she decides to take us…"

He trailed off as he heard the Doctors calling for them as they approached the wharf, still on the capsized fishing boat.

"Jamie!"

"Grace!"

It was a joyful reunion for all four of them, though Grace and Jamie were both concerned with the spiders.

"Ye're sure they're all gone?" the piper asked. "Just because we managed to leave the queen out there?"

"More than likely," Grace's Doctor said. "Of course, I'll stay for a while to make sure they're all gone."

"And I'll help," Grace said.

"Really?"

"Really," she said, with a smile, and then turned to Jamie and his Doctor. "You know, it's been fun… In a weird kind of way."

"It's like that a lot," Jamie said. "Maybe ye'll get used to it."

"Maybe."

Grace's Doctor then grasped Jamie's hand.

"It was really wonderful to see you again," he said. He cast a quick glance at Jamie's Doctor. "Look after him, won't you?"

"Ye have to remind me, too, eh?" Jamie asked. "Well, ye don' have to worry. It's been thirteen years, and I have no desire for it to end."

"Nor do I," Jamie's Doctor said. "Now how about that pub-crawl, hmm?"

Jamie grinned, and with a final wave to Grace and her Doctor, he followed his Doctor back to the TARDIS, and off to their next destination.


	36. Returning a Favor, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 36: Jamie McCrimmon and the Ninth Doctor; part 1 of 2.

The second pub-crawl ended up with the Doctor and Jamie arriving somewhere in Hawaii. The Doctor was very pleased by this and insisted that they stay for a while.

"It's not the Caribbean, but it's still warm and pleasant," he declared, arriving in the console room with a flowery Hawaiian shirt and matching swim trunks on. He paused, realizing that Jamie wasn't there. "Jamie? Where are you?"

"Right here," he called from his room. "And I'm staying right here. I look like a fool, dressed like this…"

He stepped outside of the room long enough for the Doctor to see Jamie's Hawaiian shirt and trunks.

"I think you look quite nice," the Doctor said.

"People are going to stare at me like this… Can I just wear my kilt…?"

"They'll stare at you even more if you do—though I suppose we could find you a grass skirt?"

Jamie responded with a look, but after much wheedling and coaxing from the Doctor, the Scot was finally convinced to exit the TARDIS in his Hawaiian clothes, dragging a pair of beach chairs with them.

The Doctor proceeded to sunbathe while Jamie purchased a drink, certain that he would need it if he was to be wearing this get-up for much longer.

"They put a wee umbrella in my drink…" he said, as he sat back down.

"How nice," the Doctor said, removing his shirt and flopping over onto his stomach as he rested in his beach chair. He sighed in contentment.

Jamie glanced over at him and smiled, despite himself. It had been a long time since he had seen the Doctor so happy and relaxed; he was almost reverting to his old self. In fact, if it weren't for the serpent that had been tattooed on his arm by the Time Lords as a mark of his criminal status, Jamie would have thought that nothing had changed.

Jamie finished his drink.

"There's a stretch of shoreline down there," Jamie said. "I'd like to go for a walk."

"Alright, but be careful," the Doctor said. "Some of the beaches here are privately owned; don't make me have to bail you out of jail for trespassing. One criminal among the two of us is more than enough…"

Subconsciously, he moved his other hand to cover his serpent tattoo, and Jamie's face fell upon that return to reality.

"I'll be careful," he promised.

He sighed to himself and began to wander down the beach, looking out into the ocean. The waves lapped at his feet, and a smile was starting to return to his face when something in the sky caught his eye.

A blue police box was hurtling through the sky, crash landing in a sand dune.

Jamie gaped at it, looking back in the direction he had come from for a moment, as if wondering if his Doctor had somehow gotten back to the TARDIS and parked it here. He shook his head, realizing the improbability of that, and he ran up to the TARDIS, unlocking it with the key he wore around his neck.

The TARDIS had landed on its side, so Jamie had to jump in—and he immediately stared at the console room. It had changed—drastically changed. It was suddenly dark, as opposed to the warm, light white-and-gray interior he knew so well. The interiors of the other Doctor's TARDISes that he had seen had stuck to a similar scheme.

It took Jamie a moment to notice the man lying slumped over the console.

"Doctor!" he exclaimed, for he knew it had to be him, despite that fact that this was yet another Doctor he hadn't seen. "Doctor, are ye alright!? What happened!?"

The man slowly came around, lifting his head as the TARDIS lights flickered on and off; the Scot could see glimpses of him—the short hair, the cheekbones, the big ears…

The Doctor's eyes glowed as the lights flickered; he could see better than Jamie could, and he turned sharply in his direction.

"Jamie…?!" he murmured. "No… no, it can't be…"

"It's me, Doctor," Jamie promised. "I'm really here. Ye know how it works; ye always seem to end up finding me right when ye need me most—"

This Doctor suddenly pulled away from him.

"…Doctor…?" Jamie asked, suddenly hurt. The other Doctors had always greeted him so warmly; why was this one rebuffing him?

"You shouldn't be here," this Doctor said, now getting to his feet as he attempted to work the console again. "Timestreams are crossing."

"That's ne'er stopped us before," Jamie said. "Me and my Doctor—and all the rest of ye. Why was that ne'er an issue?"

"Because things are different now!" the Doctor snapped. "Don't look at me like that!"

"Like what?"

"Like you're pitying me! I don't need your pity!"

Jamie's eyes widened slightly; those words held a significance for him. It had been on one of the piper's first nights aboard the TARDIS; the terrors of the Battle of Culloden fresh in his mind… He had been on the hearth-rug in front of the fireplace in the TARDIS's study, angrily snapping at his Doctor for not being willing to alter the timestreams and save Jamie's family, saying almost the same thing as the Doctor attempted to sympathize—

" _I don' need yer words, and I don' need yer pity!_ "

And his Doctor's response had been to hold him close in a warm embrace. And now, the piper knew he had to return the favor.

Wordlessly, he drew this angry, cold version of the Doctor into a hug. The Doctor froze in stunned silence for several minutes before finally wrapping his arms around the Scot. There was pain and anger—more than Jamie had ever felt from any of the other Doctors.

But one thing hadn't changed; despite his best efforts to make it seem like he didn't, the Doctor still needed him.


	37. Returning a Favor, part II

Jamie continued to hug this Doctor. He didn't have to wonder as to what he had been through. Jamie knew.

"How bad was it?" the Scot asked.

"How bad was what?"

"The war?"

The Doctor pulled away from his embrace just to stare at him in amazement.

"How did…?"

"How did I know?" Jamie asked. "Because the look in yer eyes is the same one that I used to have when ye found me at Culloden Moor."

The Doctor stared at him for a moment before nodding in understanding.

"What happened, Doctor?" Jamie asked, softly. "What happened in the war?"

"Horrible things, Jamie," he said, looking away. "I've done horrible things. I'm not the hero you thought I was."

"Ye'll always be my hero," the piper stated.

The Doctor didn't reply to this; his throat tightened. It turned out that he was spared from reply as Jamie's Doctor now arrived.

"Alright, which one of me crashed the TARDIS here!?" he demanded, and then he stopped and stared open-mouth at the interior. "…Oh my word—what have you done to her!? I don't like it!"

The other Doctor snapped out of his daze as he looked upon his younger self.

"I fully intended for this to be a nice, relaxing holiday at the seaside—not another opportunity to break the Laws of Time!" Jamie's Doctor said. "The Time Lords are bound to bring us grief for this!"

"I don't think so," the other Doctor said.

"Just what do you mean by that?"

"I mean, I don't think they will," he simply stated, and it was Jamie's eyes that widened in sudden understanding.

The war must have involved Gallifrey, the piper realized. And something had happened to the Time Lords. Still, the piper found it difficult to sympathize with the other Time Lords after everything they had put his Doctor through—and how they always insulted him mercilessly.

"Yes, well, you do have the gift of hindsight," Jamie's Doctor conceded, not cluing in on the other Doctor's mood. "Very well; we'd best not stay here and cross timestreams any further than we have to. Come along, Jamie."

"Wait," Jamie said. "Before ye and I go back, there's something that I need to say—that both of ye need to hear."

Jamie's Doctor blinked, surprised to hear Jamie's serious tone.

"Jamie, what's going on?" he asked. "What did he tell you?"

"That does nae matter; ye'll find oot eventually, won' ye?"

"…True…"

"I just wanted to thank ye," Jamie said. "For e'erything ye did for me. Ye saved my life back at Culloden. But ye di'n stop there. Ye took me along, even though ye had no reason to. Ye took an uneducated war child under yer wing. Ye taught me to read and write. And ye taught me how to think things through, rather than to rush in blindly. And there's more than that, actually. Traveling with ye, these past thirteen years… Och I know it sounds silly…. But it's been just fantastic."

"Fantastic…" the other Doctor repeated. He looked away, but the corners of his mouth twitched into a ghost of a smile. "Yes; yes, it was, Jamie. Absolutely fantastic."

"I agree; I don't think it's a silly thing to say at all," Jamie's Doctor said. "And it's not as though it hasn't been enjoyable for me." He placed his hands on Jamie's shoulders. "In fact, I daresay I've gotten in return much more than I gave."

"I can agree with that," the other Doctor said, and he now looked at his past self. "I'm rather jealous of you, you know. You've got him with you still. All I've got left are the memories."

"Yes, well, I…" Jamie's Doctor began, but he trailed off as he now looked into his other self's eyes—and saw the immeasurable pain within them. "Oh, my word…"

"Doctor?" Jamie asked.

"I don't know what you've been through, but I know you shouldn't travel alone," he said. "Jamie…"

"Eh?" the Scot asked.

"Jamie, I think it might be prudent, perhaps even necessary, if you spend some time with my future self—travel with him for some time."

"No," the other Doctor said, so quickly that both Jamie and his Doctor stared at him. "The paradoxes it would create…"

"Yes, I suppose so…" Jamie's Doctor sighed. "Very well; come along, Jamie. We'd best let him get on his way."

His Doctor turned and left, pausing to sneer at the console room's décor once more before exiting.

"Are ye going to be alright?" Jamie asked, as he began to follow his Doctor.

"I'll be fantastic," the other Doctor promised, evidently having found a new favorite word.

Jamie smiled, and then folded his arms.

"Are ye going to say it, too?"

"Yes, I am. You look after him," he said. "It wasn't just the paradoxes that made me turn down his offer. Not that I wouldn't want to travel with you again—but he needs you more than I do."

"And I need him, too," Jamie promised.

And as he left, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, that this Doctor finally managed a genuine smile. He stepped outside this TARDIS, and watched with his Doctor as it dematerialized.

"I do wonder what he went through," Jamie's Doctor sighed, as they walked back the way they had come. "Of course, as you said, I'll find out anyway…"

"I just hope he does nae travel alone; ye were right—ye don' deserve that," the Scot said, pausing to purchase another drink from the nearby hotel. He ended up buying two drinks, much to his Doctor's surprise.

"Haven't you had enough?"

Wordlessly, Jamie smiled and handed him one of the drinks.

"Oh! Well, thank you, Jamie. Hmm, yes I see what you mean about the umbrellas. Rather whimsical, don't you think?"

"Just like ye," the piper said, and he raised his glass. "To us?"

The Doctor grinned and raised his glass to meet Jamie's.

"To us."


	38. Serendipity, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 38: Jamie McCrimmon and the Tenth Doctor; part 1 of 2.

Looking back, Jamie realized he probably should not have been wandering about on that big platform that read "Teleport Device." But in his defense, his Doctor had said that this extrasolar war base had not been used in a while; how was he to know that there was a scouting ship above them, monitoring the base and ready to activate the teleport on anyone who set foot on it?

The worst part was that there didn't seem to be any way to reverse it; Jamie had arrived in the middle of a corridor, with no way back to the base. And the scouts aboard the ship had been waiting for him

Now, poor Jamie was running through the corridors of the scouting ship, calling out in vain for the Doctor as he was pursued by the enemy scouts. He knew that if the Doctor was still on the base, then he was too far to hear him—he could only hope that they had enough of a mental link for the Doctor to be able to locate him and reach him with the TARDIS.

"Doctor!?" he called. "Doctor—oof!"

He ran smack into someone running in the opposite direction—a man with a brown pinstripe suit and short, but ruffled, brown hair.

"Someone mention me?" the man asked, and then got a good look at the speaker. "Jamie! Fancy meeting you here!"

Jamie wordlessly pointed behind him, indicating the armed scouts turning the corner and into the corridor.

"Ooh; let's talk on the way, then," this Doctor said. "This way!"

He grabbed Jamie's hand, and the two of them took off down the corridor as Jamie explained how he got here.

"Oh, that's right—I suppose I should've warned you to be careful around that teleport device," the Doctor said. "Still, you don't listen to what I say most of the time, don't you? No, not that way—over here!"

He tugged Jamie's sleeve and pulled him into a small, dark room; neither of them moved as they heard the scouts run past.

"This is a clever hiding place," Jamie whispered, relieved. "What is this—a secret passageway?"

"Nah; it's a broom cupboard. Well, it'll give us a little time," this Doctor said. "And we'll need it—I have a friend of mine here we need to find—her name's Donna. You'll like Donna. Brilliant woman, Donna…"

"How'd she get here?"

"Same way you did, actually—looked around the transporter when I wasn't looking. Followed her here the same way. Was this close to finding her before I heard you calling for me."

"Sorry…"

"Oh, no; no need to apologize for that! You should know by now that it's always a pleasure to run into you again…" He trailed off, hearing the complete silence outside. Slowly, Donna's Doctor opened the door of the little room they had been hiding it. "There you are! Hiding in a broom cupboard—they fall for it all the time! Goes to show you that the oldest tricks sometimes work best…"

"Doctor…" Jamie said. "I just realized something."

"Yes?"

"Ye said ye followed this Donna lassie here by using the teleport machine?"

"That's right…"

"And ye just appeared in the middle of this ship like I did?" Jamie asked. "Ye din' land on another teleport device?"

The Doctor's eyes widened, realizing what the Scot was trying to say.

"…There's no way back to the base," he realized. "Ooh. That's… not good. Not good at all."

Jamie folded his arms, smirking.

"What?" Donna's Doctor asked.

"Ye already have a plan, don' ye?"

"Ah, you're just as brilliant as ever, aren't you?" he grinned. "First thing we do is find Donna—and then wait for the inevitable arrival of my past self, because you know as well as I do that he's not about to leave you high and dry. I don't think any of us could, really. Plenty of time to discuss that later, though— _allons-y_!"

And they took off down the corridor.


	39. Serendipity, part II

Jamie obviously held the Doctor in very high esteem. This did not mean, however, that the piper assumed that the Doctor was infallible. On the contrary, he knew that the Doctor made mistakes, and that, sometimes, he would just have to accept the consequences of whatever trouble that led them into.

As such, Jamie didn't complain too much when their dash down the corridor ended with them running right into a crowd of scouts, which quickly apprehended them; he did, however deliver one bit of commentary—

"I don' think this was one of yer better ideas."

"I think you may be right," Donna's Doctor admitted.

"I _know_ he's right," a third voice said, as more scouts joined them, leading a redheaded woman along.

"Donna! There you are… Ooh. They got you, too?"

"Was it that obvious?" she asked, sardonically. "I've got half a mind to—"

Her angry rants were interrupted by another voice angrily ranting—one that Jamie recognized all too well.

"Doctor…!"

Sure enough, Jamie's Doctor was being hauled over to them by even more scouts, making sure to be as unpleasant to their eardrums as he possibly could.

"Do you even realize who I am!? I am a Time Lord; I refuse to be treated in such a manner!"

"…Well, he's just the way I remember him…." Donna's Doctor said.

"Who is he?" Donna asked in an undertone, sounding baffled. "He's saying he's a Time Lord like you; I thought you said that you're the last of your kind."

"I still am. He's me."

"Yer the last _what_!?" Jamie asked in a stunned whisper. He had deduced that something had happened to Gallifrey when he had spoken to that Lone Doctor in Hawaii, but the piper could not have imagine the extent being as large as this. "The other Time Lords are all—?"

"Yes, but you can't tell _him_ that," Donna's Doctor said, casting a glance to Jamie's Doctor to make sure he was still ranting at his captors. "Jamie, do you understand me?"

Jamie stared at him for a moment, remembering what the War Chief had asked him not too long ago—

" _But does_ _he_ _trust_ _you_?"

"Jamie?" Donna's Doctor asked, snapping him back to reality.

"Aye," the piper said. "I underst—ack!"

He yelped as his arms were pulled behind his back and tied with a small length of rope. Donna protested loudly as the same happened to her.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing!?"

Jamie's Doctor ranted even louder as they tied his wrists next, and Donna's Doctor just stared, perplexed, as they finished with him.

"Well, this pretty much ruins whatever plans I had to get us out of here," he sighed. "Guess we'll have to go to our usual standby—make it up as we go along. Hey—there's no need to push!"

The scouts didn't listen, shoving all four of them to a room and then locking the door behind them.

"Well, this is just wizard!" Donna snarled. She turned to her Doctor. "You said you had a plan?"

"Yeah, that involved the use of my hands," he said, apologetically. "I had this brilliant set-up where we'd sneak into the control room and work the teleportation device from there. As such, I'm going to have to form a new plan—which shouldn't be difficult, what with two of me here." He grinned at Jamie's Doctor. "Hello, then! Where in our timeline are you? No, wait—don't tell me; I'll figure it out for myself. Let's see… Our little piper here is in his… mid-thirties, is it? Ah, we've passed the Androgums, haven't we? Oh, that brings back memories I'd rather forget… Have you met our fifth self yet—for the second time, I mean, for that unintended skiing holiday in Colorado?"

"Yes, and I must say that you are exactly as he described," Jamie's Doctor intoned. "If you must know, Jamie and I just finished up a lovely holiday in Hawaii."

"Oh, right, and the Celestial Intervention Agency asked you to look into activity in that old base. And here we all are."

"So, you actually remember this?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, I do!" her Doctor grinned. "Funny how it works out—it's the whole wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey concept I've been telling you about."

Jamie's Doctor silently mouthed "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" with a baffled expression on his face. Jamie caught his eye and smirked.

"Ye still like to talk in words no one can understand…"

"What have I become…?" Jamie's Doctor asked, shaking his head in disbelief, but his train of thought was diverted by Donna's ensuing rant.

"Are you mad!? If you remember this, why can't you just remember how we got off of this ship and then do it!?"

Her Doctor backed away slightly.

"Because there are… things that happen when you cross your own timestream—an affected memory is one of them. You can remember _most_ things, but not always everything."

"…What's the point in crossing your own timestream, then!?"

"That's just it; you're not really supposed to…" her Doctor said. "Always leads to a few side effects…"

"Och, it does nae matter what ye can or cannae remember!" Jamie said. "What matters is that now that we're together, we can focus on finding a way oot of here. Look on the bright side—at least it cannae get any worse!"

The words had barely left his mouth when the room suddenly began to shake. The entire floor began to open in a circular hole. Then, the walls began to close in, pushing them towards the hole.

"This whole room is a trap!" Jamie's Doctor exclaimed. "Oh, Jamie, how many times have I told you never to say that it could be worse!?"

"Never mind that!" Donna snapped at them. "What's down that hole!?"

"It's kind of hard to tell, isn't it?" her Doctor asked, glancing as they were pushed closer towards the hole. "Could be another room. Could be a prison cell. Or it could lead to the air lock!"

Donna and Jamie both stared at him in horror.

"What do we do!?" the redhead demanded.

"I've got it!" Jamie's Doctor said. "Jamie, you stay right where you are. And you, Miss…?"

"Donna."

"Donna, I need you to make it to that side of the room—stand directly across from Jamie."

"Oh!" Donna's Doctor exclaimed, as the redhead obeyed. "I see what you're doing!"

"Good—then do it!" Jamie's Doctor shot back, heading to a third side of the room.

"I don't see how this is going to help us!" Donna said, as her Doctor went to the remaining side of the room. "The walls are still pushing us towards the pit!"

"Yes, but we can still stop ourselves from falling in!" Jamie's Doctor said. "Now, when I give the word, lean forward, and then plant your feet against the wall!"

Donna's eyes widened in sudden understanding.

"Oh, you are _brilliant_!" she said, and she turned to her Doctor. "I think you lost something when you changed!"

Her Doctor made a face, but then listened to his past self as Jamie's Doctor then gave the order for them to lean forward as the walls pushed them even closer to the hole.

They braced themselves as they all collided with each other's heads, but after planting their feet against the walls, which stopped an inch from the pit, they succeeded in preventing themselves from falling in.

"Well done," Donna's Doctor said. "We did it."

"This isn't over, Spaceman," Donna said. "I'm not going to spend the rest of my life as a living tent pole!"

"Fortunately, I might have a way out of that," Jamie's Doctor said. "If we can somehow untie my hands, I can get my Stattenheim remote control and remotely summon the TARDIS."

"Why couldn't you have had someone untie your hands _before_ you had us go to our separate walls?" Donna's Doctor asked.

"I stopped us from falling in, didn't I!?" Jamie's Doctor quipped back.

"Fair enough. Right, then—if you turn yourself around really fast, you can turn 180 degrees. Jamie and Donna, you're gonna have to make sure he doesn't fall."

Jamie and Donna braced themselves as Jamie's Doctor maneuvered to face the opposite direction.

"Jamie, now you do the same."

"Me?" the Scot asked. "Why me?"

"Someone needs to untie my hands," his Doctor said. "It's a rather loose knot; even with your hands tied, I'm sure you can succeed."

Jamie could have laughed—to think that he had ever considered that the Doctor didn't trust him! He kept his thoughts to himself, however, as he freed his Doctor's hands.

A new problem soon presented itself, however.

"Where will ye summon the TARDIS?" Jamie asked. "There's no floor for her."

"Yes, I realize that," his Doctor said, retrieving the remote control. "That leaves us with just one option."

"…What's that?" Donna's Doctor asked.

"We fall."

"What!?" Donna shrieked. "After all that we went through not to fall—"

Her words were cut off as Jamie's Doctor grabbed Jamie's hand and allowed himself to fall into the pit. By reflex, Jamie grabbed the other Doctor's hand, who grabbed Donna.

They were only in the air for a few seconds; the TARDIS materialized under them and opened her doors, allowing her to catch them. Jamie's Doctor quickly worked to console to dematerialize them out of there, reappearing beside Donna's Doctor's TARDIS.

Donna was absolutely gloating to her Doctor as to how wonderful Jamie's Doctor was; as he tried to convince her that he was actually better with his additional centuries of existence, but soon gave up.

"I think we ought to part ways before this gets even more awkward," Donna's Doctor stated. "Donna and I need to resolve this matter with the scouting ship."

"Are you quite certain you can handle it without Jamie and me?" Jamie's Doctor asked.

"Of course I can!" Donna's Doctor sputtered. "What do you think I am?"

"…You don't want me to answer that."

"…I suppose not."

The two TARDIS teams said their goodbyes; Donna's Doctor started to follow her out, but then paused.

"Oh, Jamie…" he said. "There's something important that I need to tell you. Can't believe I almost forgot it…"

"I know, I know—don' leave him."

"…No, that wasn't it."

"Eh?"

"I mean, there is that, but I knew that you knew about it. No; what I have to tell you is this—if you ever find yourself crossing paths with Queen Victoria… _don't_ tell her your name."

"Why?"

"Because I ended up royally annoying her—no pun intended."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"When I had to give my name, I sort of… used yours."

"…What."

"I was in Scotland—yours was the first name that popped into my head! You can't blame me for that, can you?" Without waiting for an answer, he clapped Jamie on the shoulder and headed out to follow Donna. "Take care, then."

Wordlessly, Jamie turned back to his Doctor.

"Don't look at me like that," his Doctor said. "I certainly didn't condone his actions!"

But Jamie smiled; he didn't mind. He had proven the War Chief wrong in regards to the Doctor not trusting him. Of course, proof was something he had never needed anyway; his faith would have been enough.


	40. The Monkey and the Crocodile, part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 40: Jamie McCrimmon and Rory Williams; part 1 of 4. Also, from Jamie's perspective, this mini-arc takes placed after my "Smith & McCrimmon Investigative Services, Ltd" fic, where he and Two met an incognito post-Angels Amy & Rory in New York, which is why he is certain he's met Rory before, but Rory has no idea who he is.

Sometimes, Jamie knew, if it wasn't teleportation devices or other futuristic gadgets separating him from the Doctor, it would be something else. In this case, it was a series of traps in an ancient jungle temple that he and the Doctor had decided to explore on another one of their impromptu holidays.

Jamie had inadvertently triggered a trapdoor and had fallen down a chute into a large chamber—landing on top of another explorer who had been at the bottom of the slide, looking around with a torch and had not expected the falling Scot.

"Och, I'm sorry," Jamie said, as he helped the other explorer up.

"It's fine," the man replied, catching his breath after Jamie had knocked the wind out of him. "…Where did you come from?"

"Oop there," Jamie said, pointing at the chute.

"No, I meant… nevermind; I just…" the man began, but trailed off as Jamie stared at him in curiosity. "What?"

"Have we met before?" Jamie asked. "Ye look verra familiar to me."

The man took a look at Jamie's choice of apparel.

"I don't think so; I'm pretty sure I'd remember you. You might have met my wife, though; she's Scottish, too."

"Oh, aye?" Jamie asked. "…I don' believe I caught yer name?"

"I'm Rory. Rory Williams."

"Jamie McCrimmon."

Rory blinked.

"McCrimmon?" he repeated.

"Aye. …Ye _do_ know me, then?"

"No, but I've heard someone talk about you a lot."

Jamie's eyes widened.

"The Doctor?"

"Yeah," Rory said. "He brought my wife and me here; only we got separated on account of all these trapdoors and moving walls…"

"Yer Doctor is here, too?" Jamie asked, eager to meet him. "What's he like?"

"He calls himself a madman with a box; I'd say that describes him pretty well," Rory sighed. "Dark-haired, shabby clothes, bow tie…"

"Yer Doctor sounds exactly like my Doctor…" the piper said.

"Does your Doctor sound likely to join us by falling into another one of the trapdoors? Because I have a feeling that's how we're going to find mine."

Jamie smirked.

"Sounds aboot right…" he said. "Well, we'd better start looking for a way oot of here—our Doctors will want to find one once they meet us here."

"I've been trying to find a way out, but all I can find is this stone door," Rory said, indicating it with his torch. He grabbed Jamie's arm as the piper moved to go through it. "Don't bother; I've tried it—it's a roundabout passageway that leads back to this same chamber." He indicated a small opening that had been made by pushing through some fallen bricks and stones. "There doesn't seem to be a way out…"

Jamie frowned, and took a closer look at the door.

"Why is there a carving of a crocodile and a monkey on the door?" he asked, indicating the stonework. A monkey was in a tree on a small island, shaking a tiny paw at a glum-looking crocodile in the water.

"I have absolutely no idea," Rory said. "But there's one person who might know…" He looked up towards the chute as he heard a man shouting. "…And here he comes now."

Jamie looked towards the chute, as well, as he was able to discern what the man was yelling—

"GERONIMOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Jamie and Rory deftly stepped out of the way as a man in a tweed suit and bow tie rolled out of the chute, somersaulting across the chamber floor until he finally rolled to a stop, and then fell back on his back.

"…I am never doing that again…" he declared.

The piper looked to the nurse.

"Is yours always like this?" Rory asked.

"Surprisingly similar," Jamie agreed.

Though, in reality, it wasn't that big a surprise at all.


	41. The Monkey and the Crocodile, part II

Jamie leaned over this version of the Doctor, giving him a smile and a wave.

"We really must stop meeting like this," the piper said, reaching a hand out to help him up.

Rory's Doctor accepted it, getting to his feet.

"I don't often meet people in the antechambers of ancient temples. It's generally something I try to avoid," he said, patting Jamie on the shoulder, and then turning away to inspect the room. "Right, then… What do we have here?"

Jamie blinked, surprised and slightly hurt by the lack of a warm greeting. He looked back to Rory.

"Wait for it," Rory said, knowingly. "Sometimes, it takes him a while…"

"Secret stone antechamber," Rory's Doctor murmured. "Obvious door that leads nowhere… This is designed to keep people from escaping. But the fact that there don't seem to be any bones down here means that people found their way out. So, in theory, that means we should…"

He trailed off, staring at nothing, as his eyes widened.

Rory just rolled his eyes as his Doctor practically threw himself across the chamber and caught Jamie in a tackle-hug.

"Jamie!" he exclaimed, practically bouncing on his heels. "Oh, look at you! Hair, eyes, nose, mouth… everything the way it should be!"

"Aye, and let's let it stay that way this time," Jamie said. "Good to know ye have nae forgotten what my face looks like again…"

Rory's Doctor winced.

"…That was _one time_!"

"Och, it's nae as though I din' forgive ye," Jamie said, grinning as he returned the Doctor's hug.

Rory politely busied himself with staring at the carving of the monkey and the crocodile as Jamie and this Doctor began to chat.

"But if you're here…" Rory's Doctor said, after a moment. "Then where am I—the other me, I mean?"

"Still wandering aboot up there, I should think," Jamie said. "No doubt trying to find a way to reach me that does nae involve falling down here, as well."

"Yeah, about that—it's not possible. I looked. So I came down here the only other way I could find."

"But if you're here," Rory said, now looking back. "Where's Amy?"

"Well, I didn't want her falling down here with us; I told her to wait. In case we need someone to make a getaway to the TARDIS, she could go and use the emergency settings to pick us up."

"Ye let some lassie pilot the TARDIS?" Jamie asked. "Ye only e'er let me pilot it once—and only because ye were trying to outdo yer third self, who taught me how to drive!"

"Is this really the time for this?" Rory finally asked. "Amy's probably worried about us—and Jamie's Doctor probably is, too."

"Oh, I know he's worried. I always worried over Jamie," Rory's Doctor said. "Not that I minded, you know. Having someone to worry about keeps you alive. Of course, you know all about that…"

Still holding onto Jamie's arm, the Doctor led him over to where Rory was standing, beside the stone door.

"So this is the false door?" the Doctor asked, taking out his sonic screwdriver and aiming it all around the stone.

"Not so much a false door as one that leads nowhere," Rory said. "It took me on a complete circle—right back here."

The Doctor suddenly froze as the light from his screwdriver illuminated the carving of the monkey and the crocodile.

"Rory thought that ye'd know what that carving meant."

"I do…" the Doctor said. "We're not here by some slim chance. My TARDIS bought me here, just as my past self's TARDIS brought us here."

"Aye; I've been meeting all of yer other selves," Jamie said. "I must have been destined to meet this one of ye, too."

"That's part of it," Rory's Doctor said. "But part of it is also this."

"Someone brought us all here just to look at a carving of a monkey and a crocodile?" Jamie asked.

"Yes."

Jamie and Rory looked to each other, and Rory just shrugged helplessly.

"Why?"

"They want you—all of us—to learn a lesson from this story," Rory's Doctor said.

"Story?"

"It's an old folk tale from multiple places on Earth—India, Thailand, Africa… Even variations of the story exist on other planets, with modifications to make it apply to the local wildlife, of course."

"Let me see if I've got this. Someone wanted us to come here in order to see this carving _and_ learn about an old folk tale?" Rory asked.

"Actually, it's more for Jamie, but it's for all of us, I suppose—meaning that we need to get Amy down here after all." The Doctor dashed over to the stone chute. "Amy! Amy, can you hear me!?"

Rory's Doctor quickly scrambled out of the way as Jamie's Doctor tumbled from the chute instead.

"That's not Amy," Rory declared.

"I know," his Doctor said, managing a grin again. "It's me!"


	42. The Monkey and the Crocodile, part III

"So…" Jamie's Doctor said, glancing at Rory's Doctor. "We meet at last. You're the only one I ever held out any hope for, you know?"

"Remembering what you were like, I know that's high praise," Rory's Doctor grinned. "You really were incredible."

"Naturally…"

"I've done my best to sort of… go back to your roots," the other Doctor said, conspicuously adjusting his bow tie. "I had a fez at one point to go with it. And a Stetson." He winced. "Yeah, word of advice—don't get too attached to our hat collection."

"Oh no," Jamie's Doctor said, his face falling. "You don't mean…"

"Yeah… I think the only thing left still intact is the fedora that our fourth self wore."

"I wore it first, if you look back and remember," Jamie's Doctor reminded him. "Back when Jamie and I set up our little detective agency in New York—we had matching ones."

"Ah, New York!" Rory's Doctor grinned. "Always wanted to go back to New York—been promising Rory and Amy that I'd take them there. We were on our way there when the Old Girl decided to make a detour here—isn't that right, Rory?"

Rory, in the meantime, had been standing beside the carving of the monkey and the crocodile, trying to say something, but the words kept getting lost as the two Doctors kept on chatting away. In response to his Doctor, he merely gave an exasperated shrug.

"Oh, right, the carving…" he said, and he went back to the chute. "Amy! Amy, if you can hear me, forget everything I said before about not falling down here! You need to fall down here right away!"

"Oh, my word…" Jamie's Doctor said, walking over to the carving. "So that's what this is about…"

"Aye; yer future self said it was a warning," Jamie said, seeing the grim look on his Doctor's face.

"I believe it is, how far did he…?" Jamie's Doctor trailed off, glancing at Rory. "I'm sorry… Rory, is it? Have we met before?"

Rory wordlessly pointed to his Doctor.

"No, no," Jamie's Doctor said. "I mean, did I meet you when I was still me, and not him?"

"I don't think so," Rory said. "Jamie asked me the same question, actually…"

Jamie's Doctor looked to the Scot, who shrugged in response as a redheaded young woman tumbled from the chute.

"Amy!" her Doctor exclaimed, helping her up. "Now the gang's all here—and then some… Amy, I'd like you to meet… me. And my other Scottish friend, Jamie."

Jamie exchanged a quick glance with his Doctor; like Rory, there was something extremely familiar about Amy. But Amy didn't seem to think so; she greeted them, and then turned back to her Doctor.

"Has this always been a thing with you?" she asked. "Shabby clothes, bow ties, and Scots?"

"Not always; I just decided to return to a winning combination this time around…"

"Always an honor to meet a fellow Scot," Jamie said to Amy. "I'm from the Highlands."

"Really? My dad and I used to go camping there when I was little," she grinned. "Actually, I moved to England when I was a child—Leadworth."

Jamie cringed.

"I'm sorry…"

"It was awful—until he showed up," she said, nodding towards her Doctor. "Crashed right into my shed."

"Now why did you crash into the poor girl's shed?" Jamie's Doctor chided his future self.

"It was a difficult regeneration," Amy's Doctor said, flatly.

"Ah. Glad to see you quickly came to your senses, though, and chose to model yourself after me…. Now, completely unrelated, there's something here that caught my eye…"

"Mind you," Amy said, continuing her conversation with Jamie. "Leadworth wasn't _all_ bad…"

"I'm still here!" Rory said, to no one in particular. "Just to let you all know!"

"I was just about to say that you made Leadworth bearable!" Amy said, walking over to him to give him a good-natured punch on the arm. She stared at the carving. "What's with the monkey and the alligator?"

"It's a crocodile, actually," Jamie's Doctor said, as he and her Doctor now surveyed a small, stone statue of a crocodile on a pedestal hidden away near the back of the chamber, located next to a scaled-down, stone tree. Jamie's Doctor was also holding a small, metal statue of a monkey, which he carried over to the carving.

"And that's why I asked you to come down here," Amy's Doctor added, clapping his hands together. "Gather 'round, everyone—it's storytime!"

* * *


	43. The Monkey and the Crocodile, part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The folk tale in question is, indeed, a real folk tale from India (among other places).
> 
> Also, according to the Doctor Who Expanded Universe, Gallifreyans are reptiles with humanoid appearances. I took this a step further and narrowed it down to crocodilians, based on numerous similarities between crocodillian behavior and Gallifreyan traits and quirks. The EU is also where you can find information about the Gallifreyans' Latin name and aspirin allergy.

Jamie, Amy, and Rory now stood next to the Doctors as they began the story.

"As I mentioned, this carving depicts an old folk tale," Amy's Doctor said. "An unlikely friendship between a monkey and a crocodile—despite the obvious differences… despite the fact that one was, innately, a danger to the other, they sought to make it work."

"The monkey, who loved on an island, couldn't swim. The crocodile took the monkey to places he couldn't reach otherwise," Jamie's Doctor continued. "They feasted on all sorts of exotic foods. And they were happy."

"…But then it ended," Amy's Doctor said. "Another crocodile convinced the monkey's friend to betray the monkey, even though he didn't want to—the other crocodile claimed to be ill, saying that the heart of the monkey would cure them. Pressured, the crocodile attempted to drown the monkey and retrieve the heart the next time they traveled."

"The monkey saved himself by tricking the crocodile; he claimed that he had left his heart on his island, and would gladly give the crocodile his heart if he was allowed to retrieve it," Jamie's Doctor added. "Of course, the moment he returned to his island, he climbed to the safety of the tree and berated the crocodile for his foolishness—for thinking that the monkey could survive without a heart… and for losing such a precious friendship."

"They both felt badly for having lost their friendship, but there was nothing they could do," Amy's Doctor finished. "Such is the order of life. They parted ways—forever—always wondering whether or not they could have made it work."

The three humans exchanged baffled glances.

"And the point of this story is…?" Amy asked.

"Aye; ye said it was a…. warning?" Jamie asked.

Both of the Doctors looked to them.

"Take a step back and look at the story," Jamie's Doctor said. "Do you not notice anything… familiar about this situation?"

"Crocodile, taking the monkey to places he couldn't go to otherwise…?" Amy's Doctor repeated. "To say nothing of how monkeys are primates… just like humans…?"

"Are you implying…?" Rory asked, trailing off as he pointed to the carving, and then to the Doctors.

"Of course he's not implying that!" Amy said. "…I mean, it's not as though the Doctor is a crocodile, right?"

The Doctors exchanged uncomfortable glances, and the humans stared at them, curious.

"Humans…" Amy's Doctor said, softly. " _Homo sapiens_ —highly advanced species of primates. And then you have the Gallifreyans— _Dominus temporis_ —highly advanced species of space crocodilians. We've developed a humanoid outer appearance that many other species—including your own—have developed, as well, but…" He trailed off, not sure how to complete his train of thought.

The three humans exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Aye."

"Alright then."

"Fine."

"…You're taking this rather well," Jamie's Doctor observed.

"Nothing about you surprises me anymore, to be honest," Rory admitted.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure you're not likely to drown us to eat our hearts," Amy added. "I think we're good."

"Ye di'n attack me as an Androgum," Jamie agreed. "That's aboot as hungry as ye can get…"

"What's an Androgum?" Amy asked.

"A very hungry beastie."

"It's not about food!" Amy's Doctor said, gesturing to the carving. "It's about primates and crocodilians not meant to have any sort of friendship—bad things happen! And someone is trying to drive that into your heads."

"Aye, well, it's nae going to work," Jamie declared.

"I'm more concerned about _who_ is trying to warn them—and why," Jamie's Doctor said. "It would have to be someone who would know about our timestream… How else would they pick a moment when the two of us would be here?"

"There's only person I know who knows your entire timeline," Amy said. "And if this had been from her, there'd have been a big 'Hello, Sweetie,' splotched over that carving—and there isn't, so it can't be her."

"Her?" Jamie's Doctor asked.

Amy opened her mouth, but her Doctor quickly shushed her.

"Spoilers," he said to his past self.

"Ah," he said. "But that still leaves us with no answer as to who is behind this."

"It also leaves us with no way out," Rory added. "Thought I'd mention that…"

"And, alas, I left the Stattenheim on board the TARDIS. But, no matter; that's where this comes in," Jamie's Doctor said, as he held up the statue of the monkey he had been carrying. "Now, you see there—the statue of the crocodile and the statue of the tree? There's a place for this monkey statue on each one—the top of the tree, and the crocodile's back. It's up to us to decide how the story goes—whether the monkey ever forgives the crocodile and attempts to be friends again, or stays on his tree for the rest of his life. My guess is that we open up a different passageway based on our choice."

"The safe path would be to choose the tree," Amy's Doctor said.

"Like so," Jamie's Doctor said, placing the monkey statue in the tree.

A small panel in the wall opened up, revealing a passageway that was lined with tree bark.

"The way out!" Amy exclaimed.

"Well… you three can escape through there with fairly relative ease," her Doctor said.

"What aboot ye?" Jamie asked.

"I'm afraid we couldn't possibly go through that," Jamie's Doctor said. "That's willow bark—obviously brought in from the north for the sole purpose of lining this passageway. It's full of salicylic acid—"

"That's just aspirin, isn't it?" Rory asked.

"It may be a pain reliever to you, but it's highly toxic to Gallifreyans," his Doctor explained.

"They're making us choose," Jamie realized. "If we take the safe way oot, ye cannae come with us."

"No," his Doctor said. "But you'd be guaranteed a way out."

No one spoke for a moment.

"Humans' discussion time," Amy ordered, beckoning Jamie and Rory to her. They spoke quietly for a moment, nodded at each other, and then walked over to the Doctors. "The decision is unanimous."

Without another word, together, they removed the monkey statue from the tree and placed it on the crocodile statue's back.

The first passageway closed, and a second one opened—this one was unlit, but Rory quickly shined a light inside to make sure there was no willow bark in this one.

"Something reeks in there," he said, wrinkling his nose.

"It's rotten fish," Jamie said, immediately.

"I'm not going to ask how you knew that…"

"Who cares about fish?" Amy said. "Let's go, Boys."

"Hold it!" her Doctor said, as he and Jamie's Doctor moved in front of them. "Are you absolutely sure—"

He was interrupted by two "yes"es and an "aye." Jamie now looked back to his Doctor, who was looking back at him with a mix of gratitude and pride.

Eventually, after a bit of coaxing, both Doctors agreed to let the humans go through the more dangerous path, providing that they were the ones to lead away. It soon became clear that there was an underground water source—and the fish they were smelling—had been recently attacked.

The light from Rory's torch eventually caught something up ahead—several pairs of glowing eyes; whatever creatures that lay in wait up ahead were growling and hissing.

"What are those!?" Amy exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

"Exactly what was advertised back there," her Doctor said. "Crocodiles."

"Well, that settles it," Jamie's Doctor said. "Jamie, I want you and Amy and Rory to go back and take the other passageway."

"We're nae leaving ye!" Jamie retorted. "At least I know I'm nae leaving; I made a promise!"

"Then there's only one other way," Amy's Doctor said, taking the torch from Rory as he stepped closer towards the crocodiles. "Hello! We come in peace!"

There was the sound of a facepalm from one of the humans as he continued.

"Now, I just want to make things clear between us—these humans here are under our protection," he said. "So… from Gallifreyan to crocodile, I hereby request you all to stay back from them."

To back up his statement, Jamie's Doctor stood beside him. There were several tense moments before the crocodiles began to back off, retreating to the water, and everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

Keeping an eye out for more giant reptiles, the five made their way through the passageway and out into the jungle, reaching their respective TARDISes without any further incidents.

"Well…" Amy said. "Aside from that brief encounter in that passageway, I'd say it was rather enjoyable… We should do this again sometime."

"Yes, I quite agree," Jamie's Doctor said. "This is the only one of me I've managed to get along with…"

"Maybe we can look you up again after we get back from New York," Amy grinned. "Any recommendations on what sights to see?"

"Well, we were there at a different time," Jamie said. "We were in 1959; I'm sure things have changed."

"New York is always changing," Amy's Doctor said. "But that's the beauty of it." He clasped Jamie's hand. "And I'm all for seeing you again, too."

Amy, Rory, and their Doctor waved goodbye as they returned to their TARDIS, which soon dematerialized.

"Ye know, I'm _certain_ we met Amy and Rory somewhere before," Jamie said, as he and his Doctor returned to their TARDIS.

"Yes, I can't help but think so, too," the Doctor said. "Hmm. Well, I suppose if it's truly that important, we'll remember soon enough." He paused. "I should thank you, Jamie."

"Eh?"

"You never even considered taking the easier route."

"Of course I di'n. No fairy tale aboot a monkey and a crocodile could get me to abandon ye."

"Well, someone certainly tried very hard to see if they could get you to do so," the Doctor sighed. "I only regret that we never did find out just who masterminded the whole thing."

"It's probably that Earth for the Earthlings Society again," Jamie scowled.

"Perhaps… But I don't understand how _they'd_ know my entire timeline. No; I don't think it's them."

"Should we go back in and find oot?"

"No, no; whoever it is will, undoubtedly, make another move. We'll just have to be ready for them."

Jamie nodded, certainly ready to face whoever it was who had dared to try to turn him against the Doctor. He had quite a few words for them.

He pushed the thought from his mind and turned his attention back to his Doctor as the TARDIS took off, heading for wherever fortune decided to send them.

The TARDIS had left before one more figure emerged from the temple—a large, furry Yeti, its silver control sphere fixed in its chest. The beast lumbered off, knowing that this was far from over.


	44. Unexpected, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 44: Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield, and Zoe Heriot; part 1 of 2.

There was a part of Jamie that was concerned about whether or not the Celestial Intervention Agency would catch on that the Doctor had sabotaged the navigational tracked for the sole purpose of eluding them when possible.

When they next returned to Gallifrey, and the Time Lords quickly separated the two of them, despite the Doctor's protests, Jamie was worried that the moment had come. He struggled to get back to the Doctor as the Time Lords led him to a room, ushering him inside.

Before the Scot could turn around and snarl at them, he was struck dumb at the sight of the two women in the room.

"Zoe!? Victoria!?"

"Jamie!?" they chorused. They looked older, as Jamie surely looked to them, but, besides that, they looked exactly the same.

The Scot didn't even notice the door behind him closing and locking; he immediately ran over to them.

"Are ye both alright?" he asked. "They di'n hurt ye, did they?"

"No," Victoria said. "But who _are_ they? Where _are_ we?"

"We're on the Doctor's home planet," Zoe said. "Gallifrey."

"Aye, that's…" Jamie trailed off. "Ye remember!?"

"Yes!" Zoe said, grinning. "I was starting to remember on my own—but then those… things turned up on the Wheel, and as we were fighting them off, the Time Lords appeared. They did… something, to chase them off, and then they brought me here and restored the rest of my memories."

"Things? What things?" Jamie asked.

"The faceless men," Victoria said, shuddering. "They dressed liked the gentlemen did from my time—I almost thought they were visitors. But then the came closer, and I saw they had no faces—just mouths with fangs! They attacked me and the Harrises, too—and then these people showed up, saved us, and brought me here, as well."

"And that's what puzzles me," Zoe said. "The Doctor got into trouble because of his interfering with things. Why would his people go and do the same thing—and then restore my memories?"

"I don' know," Jamie said. "But I don't trust those crocodiles!"

"Oh, don't call them that!" Victoria scolded him. "They _did_ save us, after all."

"They _are_ crocodiles," Jamie said.

"I knew it…" Zoe muttered. "It was the Doctor's poikilothermy that convinced me…"

"And they ne'er do things without some underhanded reason," Jamie added. "The Doctor is nae but a criminal to them; they order him aboot, and they threaten to take me away if he does nae listen to them."

"I know," Victoria said, softly. "It's sad, really. After you and Zoe were taken away from him, the Doctor would visit me. He was so different from the Doctor I knew—absolutely lost and sad. And so lonely. I actually offered to travel with him again, in the hopes that might help, but… he said he wasn't allowed."

Jamie looked to Zoe, and then they both looked to Victoria.

"Thank ye for trying," Jamie said. "But that does nae explain why we were all brought here—or why those faceless men attacked ye."

"They were saying odd things," Zoe said. "Well, whispering, actually. I couldn't really understand what they were saying; it didn't make any sense!"

Victoria looked to Jamie and shrugged.

"I didn't understand it, either," she said.

Jamie bit his lip, glancing back at the locked door.

"I don' know any more than ye do," he said. "But I've got a horrible feeling that the Doctor is in some sort of danger."

"What do we do?" Zoe asked.

"I don' know aboot ye," Jamie said. "But I'm ready to do whate'er it takes."


	45. Unexpected, part II

Zoe and Victoria watched in silence as Jamie repeatedly tried ramming the door with his shoulder to try to force it open.

"Jamie, it's no use," Zoe said. "That door is some kind of strange alloy; I'm not familiar with it, but you're not going to open it that way."

"Then we'll try something else," he said. "We'll keep making a racket in here until they come in to let us oot. And then we rush oot and demand that they take us to the Doctor."

"If the Doctor is in trouble, I don't think that will be helpful for him—and it'll be worse if something happens to you," Victoria said. "Jamie, he needs us. …He needs _you_."

"He needs all of us!" the Scot said.

Zoe was about to say something, but paused as she heard a familiar ranting outside the room.

"I will not stand for this underhanded maneuver! I have stuck by your rules; you had no right to take Jamie from me!" The Doctor interrupted the other Time Lord, who was attempting to speak. "I _demand_ to have him brought back—memory intact!"

The door suddenly was flung open by an irate Time Lord, who wordlessly gestured to the three humans in the room.

"Now that's more like it," the Doctor said. "I… Oh, my word!"

The Time Lord waved a hand in exasperated dismissal and allowed the Doctor to enter. The Doctor wasted no time in drawing all three of the humans into a group hug.

"Zoe! Victoria!" he grinned. "Oh, I can hardly believe it! …Zoe, do you—?"

"Yes," she said, grinning back. "Yes, I remember everything, Doctor! Oh, it's so wonderful to see you again!"

"You certainly look much better than the last time I saw you," Victoria said. "Jamie's been taking care of you, hasn't he?"

"Of course I have!" the Scot said. "And it's nae easy! Ye know how he is—stumbling into trouble half the time…."

"Now, Jamie…"

"Oh, but I'm sure Jamie has been a handful, too," Zoe teased.

"Of course," the Doctor said. "Who do you think stumbles into trouble the other half of the time?"

Jamie protested as the girls giggled, but soon forgot about it, lost in the group hug. However, it was brought to an abrupt end as other Time Lords joined the first one, observing the scene.

The Doctor released his companions from the hug, but still kept an arm around them as he stared at the other Time Lords.

"Alright," he said. "What do you want? It must be big, if you're letting me see Zoe _and_ Victoria again. And you're not exactly famous for your charity—especially when human beings are concerned!"

One of the Time Lords gave a nod of admittance.

"You are correct, Doctor; we do have a task to ask of you—a highly difficult task. Should you succeed, we will allow you to travel with these three humans for as long as you—and they—wish."

"So… we're a bribe?" Zoe asked. "You were right, Jamie…"

The piper scowled and nodded.

"I knew it had to be too good to be true," he said. "These are the same people who tried to get me to turn against the Doctor in exchange for changing time so that my family would live."

Victoria placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder, understanding exactly how he must have felt with that dilemma; even after all these years, the pain of losing her father still resurfaced at times.

"Normally, you just give me orders," the Doctor observed. "It must be quite a task if you're offering me the return of two additional companions."

"We have decided that it is a reward worthy of the task," a second Time Lord said. "There have been sightings of strange beings throughout this galaxy, and neighboring ones—humanoid figures with no face, save for a mouth."

"The same things that attacked us!" Zoe exclaimed.

"What…!?" the Doctor asked, looking to her.

One of the Time Lords opened a viewing window, revealing one of the creatures. Jamie stared, startled at the creature's appearance.

"This one was seen here, in the Capitol," the Time Lord said. "We managed to get it to retreat, as we did with the ones that attacked your companions. We believe they are called 'Whisper Men,' and that they serve a much greater foe. We also believe they have some sort of vendetta against you, seeing as though they sought out your companions."

"I've never seen anything like them," the Doctor said, staring in wide-eyed shock. "I presume my task is to find out what they want—and rid the galaxies of them—if I am to gain the right to travel with Zoe and Victoria again?"

"That is correct," the Time Lord said.

"Doctor," Zoe said. "I know you want to travel with us again; we wish to travel with you, too. But this has all the indications of a trap!"

"I agree," Victoria said. "Perhaps you shouldn't go near them."

"And send the both of you back home, only to be attacked by them again?" the Doctor said. "No… No; I couldn't possibly allow that. I must accept."

"…There was something inevitable about that answer," Victoria sighed. "But do be careful. _Please_."

"Of course I will," the Doctor said, with a smile. "And I'll see the both of you soon."

"Let's hope so," Zoe said, softly.

The Doctor now turned to Jamie.

"Now, Jamie…" he said. "If this is a trap, as the girls suspect, it's likely to get very dangerous. If you would prefer waiting here with them…"

But Jamie just gave him a smile.

"I think ye know me better than that."

"Of course I do," the Doctor said, smiling back. "But you know it was my duty to ask, anyway."

They said their goodbyes to Victoria and Zoe, and headed for the TARDIS.


	46. You and I, part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vignette 46: the final arc of this collection

The TARDIS came to a landing as the Doctor stared in surprise at the console.

"We've landed in America," he said. "California again."

"Maybe we can visit Grace again, once we've finished with the Whisper Men," Jamie said. "Zoe and Victoria would like to meet her, I'm sure…"

"I'm afraid we're a long way from San Francisco, Jamie," the Doctor said. "This is Malibu."

"But if it's still California, how can it be far away?"

"California is far, far bigger than Scotland."

"No…" the piper said, his eyes going wide.

The Doctor just chuckled.

"Thirteen years later, and I still find ways to amaze you. After this is all over, I'll show you the atlas."

He opened the doors, staring at another police box outside their own.

"Oh dear… Another one of me?"

As if to answer his question, a man with gray hair exited the other TARDIS.

"Let me guess…" Jamie's Doctor said. "If this is about the Whisper Men…"

"It is," the other Doctor said, his voice, like Ace's Doctor, was tinged with a Scottish accent.

"Ye're talking properly again!" Jamie said, in approval.

His Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Right, then—what do you have to tell me?"

"Not you," the other Doctor said. "I actually need to borrow Jamie for a few minutes. If you would wait here while we talk inside…"

Jamie's Doctor frowned.

"More things I'm not yet supposed to know about, I take it? Oh, very well. But be quick about it; I don't know where those Whisper Men creatures are, and I'd like Jamie to be with me once we start running into them!" He looked to the Scot. "You mind what he tells you—and if he tells you not to tell me anything, listen—even if you feel it's necessary that I know."

Jamie nodded and followed the other Doctor to his TARDIS. Inside, a young brunette was waiting for him.

"It's him…" she said, her eyes widening. "Jamie."

"Yes," her Doctor said. "Jamie, I want you to meet Clara."

Jamie waved to her.

"What did ye want to talk to me aboot?" he asked, puzzled.

"About the Whisper Men," Clara's Doctor said. "There is a reason why they are turning up at points in my timestream. …It's a prelude to the greater danger."

"What?" Jamie asked. "Are ye… is my Doctor in danger?"

"All versions of me are in danger," he said. "Something… happened, causing my timestream to be corrupted."

"We have to do something!" Jamie said. "How can I stop it?"

"You'll be getting help," Clara said. "From me. Well… from an echo of me, actually. You're going to meet a girl who looks and sounds exactly like me—will most likely have my name, or something similar. She's not going to know you, but you're going to have to trust her. She's going to help you save the Doctor when things get worse."

"And they're going to get worse," her Doctor warned. "…Jamie, things are going to get very, very bad. And I need you to promise me something."

"Aye?"

"Don't abandon him—the other me—no matter how bad it gets… No matter what you hear, you cannot abandon him."

"Doctor…" Jamie said, with a wan smile. "So many people have tried to get me to leave. It has nae happened so far—it will nae happen."

The Doctor placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder.

"I honestly hope so," he said. "And I have faith in you, Jamie."

"What happens?" Jamie asked. "All the other Doctors were just giving me warnings. You're actually saying that something will happen."

"Yes," the Doctor said, simply. "Jamie… You have an incredible loyalty to me—to all of me. That is both your greatest strength… and your greatest weakness. And now, something very dangerous has realized that."

Jamie bit his lip.

"What do I do?" he asked.

"It's not what you should do," the Doctor said. "It's what you must _not_ do."

"I don' understand…"

"You will—very soon," he said.

Jamie saw it for an instant—the flash of fear and hurt in the Doctor's eyes. Yes, something horrible was going to happen. The piper knew from experience that if the Doctor was afraid, then he had best be afraid, too.

And right now, he was absolutely terrified.


	47. You and I, part II

Jamie soon found himself clinging to this Doctor's arm, seeking the familiar security he usually would get from him. The Doctor placed a hand over his.

"There's one other person you need to talk to," he said. "Clara, can you set up the monitor, please?"

"Right," she said, going over to the TARDIS console; Jamie took in the console room now, noting the darker tones, and the metallic look—like platinum, but not quite. "Establishing contact with the Library. Professor? Professor, can you hear me?"

Jamie blinked as an image of a woman with curly blonde hair appeared on the screen; Clara beckoned him over, and Jamie shyly stepped in front of the screen.

"Who is she?" he asked.

"Professor River Song," the woman said. "You've had the good fortune of meeting my parents." She smirked as Jamie looked on, blankly. "Amy and Rory."

"Oh, aye!" the piper said. "We met in a jungle temple—"

"Where the Doctor told you the story of the monkey and the crocodile," River finished. "Yes, they told me. …Jamie, there is something I need to ask you. Are you aware of what a Fixed Point is?"

"Sort of?" Jamie said. "The Doctor's tried to explain it to me—there are events in the past we cannae change, and events in the future we cannae change if we know aboot them in advance."

"Yes, that's exactly right," she said. "This means bad things as well as good things—and not just events. Relationships that are born of events are also fixed. The ties between two people are often what hold several fixed points together. And from what the Doctor has told me about you, it would seem that there are multiple threads that tie the two of you together. I'm not entirely sure where in your timeline you are, but it's obvious you've been traveling with the Doctor for quite some time."

"Aye, I have."

"…You know, you are a very lucky man."

"Ye don' have to tell me that," Jamie said. "The Doctor saved my life at Culloden—took me along only because Polly asked, but…"

"Actually, I'd been contemplating it; Polly merely beat me to it," Clara's Doctor admitted.

"I had a feeling," Jamie grinned.

"Even now, it's as though you were never separated," River mused. "I guess he doesn't want to think of that. He hates endings…"

"I don' want it to end, either," Jamie sighed. "That's why ye have to tell me how to save him from the Whisper Men!"

"I told you," Clara said. "You'll be getting help from my echo. …If something happens to her—and it probably will—don't panic. I'm the original, and I'll be alright."

Jamie nodded.

"If that's all, I think I should be getting back to him…"

River just gave a forlorn smile.

"What…?" Jamie asked.

"Oh, I'm just appreciating the irony here," she said. "I've studied the Doctor's life extensively; he and I have… a very special relationship, as well. I'm even one of the few who knows his name. But, in some strange way… I think you know the Doctor better than I ever could hope to."

Jamie wasn't sure how to respond to that. He just ran a hand through his hair in befuddlement.

"Well, we've kept you here long enough," River said. "You stick with him, alright? Sometimes, it's hard—so very hard. But it's worth it. He's always worth it." She paused, and then added as an afterthought, "Oh, and when you get back to him, best not to mention me—spoilers."

Jamie nodded, and he looked to Clara.

"See ye soon?" he asked.

"In a way," she agreed. "And it's… probably best not to mention me, either."

The piper nodded again, and then looked to the older Doctor and shook his hand goodbye.

"I won' let ye down," he promised.

"I believe that."

Jamie backed away, looking from the Doctor to Clara and River as he exited the TARDIS. A few moments after he stepped out, the TARDIS dematerialized; the sound caused his Doctor to exit his TARDIS.

"Well, then…" he said. "I'm going to assume everything went well?"

Wordlessly, Jamie drew his Doctor into an embrace.

"…Apparently not. Oh dear, oh dear…"

Knowing that there would be very little point in asking, the Doctor said nothing else; he merely returned the embrace.


	48. You and I, part III

The Doctor was very patient as he and Jamie walked down the sandy beach ground, in search of the Whisper Men; Jamie was still clinging to his arm.

"Something is going to happen," Jamie said. "As long as we stay here, ye're in great danger."

"I notice that you haven't suggested that we leave…"

"Aye, well… I keep thinking aboot Zoe and Victoria back on Gallifrey, with the Time Lords… And I have a feeling something will happen no matter where we go."

The Doctor suddenly seized Jamie's arm; following his gaze, Jamie saw a Whisper Man emerge from behind some rocks.

"Well, it's seen us," the Doctor said. "Now, Jamie, I want you to stay close by me… unless I say 'run,' in which case…" He trailed off, a vacant expression beginning to cross his face.

"Doctor…?" Jamie asked.

"In… which… case…" he repeated, blankly.

"Doctor, what's wrong!?" the piper asked, growing suddenly concerned. This must be what the Clara and her Doctor had been warning him about! He glared furiously at the Whisper Man. "What are ye doing to him!?"

"Something…" the Doctor mumbled. "Happening… Noooooo…!"

Jamie's heart skipped a beat as he turned around in time to see the Doctor crashing to his knees, clutching his head in his hands.

"Doctor!? _Doctor_!" the Scot asked, kneeling in front of him. "What's happening!? What is it!?"

"Memories… changing…" the Time Lord gasped. "Something… changing… in my past…"

"How is that even possible!?" Jamie asked, horrified.

"Rewritten…" the Doctor choked. "Being… rewritten…!"

"Is the Whisper Man doing this!?" Jamie asked, quickly becoming frantic. "How do I stop—"

The piper could only stare, horrified, as an agonized cry tore from the Doctor's lips; as pain became evident in every line on the Time Lord's face, it was all Jamie could do to keep from crying out, too.

The Scot attempted to embrace the poor Gallifreyan again.

"I'm here, Doctor," he promised, tears slipping down his face. "Just… just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

The Doctor shuddered, cringing as the pain merely increased. Through his labored breaths, though, he looked up as Jamie spoke.

"Tell me what to do," Jamie repeated.

The piper could not have expected to hear the words that the Doctor spoke next—

"Who… who are you…?" he asked, in a pained whisper.

Jamie froze, the horror in his heart growing more by the second.

"Doctor… Doctor, it's me—Jamie!"

"Jamie…?" the Doctor repeated, as though he had never heard the name before. "I… don't know… any Jamie…" He cried out in pain again.

"Doctor! Doctor—"

But the Doctor now pulled free of Jamie's embrace, scrambling away from him, frantically.

"Need… to fix… rewrite…"

"Doctor, please! Let me help ye!" Jamie pleaded, trying to help the Doctor to his feet. "I'm yer friend—"

But the Doctor shoved Jamie aside and began to run, despite the intense pain he was in. He didn't seem to have a destination in mind; he was just running aimlessly, his mind not in the right state. He ran past the Whisper Man, leaving Jamie standing alone.

"All the warnings… they had been about this," he said. "But I have to keep my word. I cannae leave him…"

Ignoring the twisting of his heart, he ran after the Doctor, calling to him in vain. The Doctor never looked back—not even once.

…Was this how the Doctor had felt when the Time Lords had wiped Jamie's memories? When he had been so desperate to help Jamie, even though Jamie had not wanted help?

That was when he heard another voice up ahead.

"Doctor!"

Jamie looked up in time to see the Doctor nearly knock Clara off of her feet; Clara took off after him, and Jamie was right behind her.

"Clara!" he called.

Clara turned back to look at him, but there was no recognition on her face; that was when Jamie remembered about what she had told him—that this was an echo, who would not know him. But she would help.

She allowed him to catch up as they both pursued the Doctor, who was still running.

"What happened?" she asked, deciding that Jamie's concern for the Doctor meant that they were working on the same side.

"I don' know!" Jamie exclaimed. "We saw a Whisper Man, and then the Doctor said something about being rewritten…"

He paused as the Doctor now ran smack into a rather heavily-muscled beachgoer; annoyed, the man threw the Doctor aside effortlessly, sending the little Time Lord falling face-first into the sand.

"Doctor!" Jamie exclaimed.

Both he and Clara knelt beside him; still shuddering in pain, the Doctor looked up.

"Go away…" he moaned, trying to wave them off. "Just go… go!"

"I made a promise I would nae leave ye!" Jamie said, trying not to betray how hurt he was as the Doctor pulled away from him again.

"I've never… seen you before!" the Doctor hissed.

Jamie looked to Clara, helplessly.

"He does nae remember a thing," he said. "Including me!"

Clara gave him a sympathetic look before turning back to the Doctor.

"Doctor," she said, kindly. "We're here to help you."

"…Help…?"

"Yes, that's right," she said.

"We're going to make sure ye remember everything," Jamie added. "And that ye're nae hurting."

"You can make all the false promises you wish," a cold voice said. "But his pain will never end. I have seen to that."

Clara and Jamie looked up as the Doctor suddenly collapsed, unconscious; a man in a Victorian suit glared down at then, surrounded by a group of Whisper Men.


	49. You and I, part IV

Jamie stared at the man in anger; he didn't know how, but, somehow, he knew this man had to be the reason for the Doctor's suffering.

"What have ye done?" he demanded. "Who are ye!?"

The man smirked.

"You don't remember me? …Well, I suppose a little fool like you wouldn't recognize me. We have met before—in Tibet… in the London Underground… near UNIT Headquarters…"

Jamie paled, his blood freezing in his veins.

"No…" he said, shaking his head in denial. "No, ye cannae be…" But it all made terrible sense—the personal nature of the trap, the draining of the Doctor's memories… It may have had a humanoid body now, but it was still the same malevolent creature. "Ye _are_ the Great Intelligence! What have ye done to the Doctor!?"

"Completed my ultimate revenge," the Intelligence said.

"What!?"

"I entered the Doctor's timestream—scattered myself across it—to give me the opportunity to rewrite his entire life so that every moment of his existence is one of agonized torment."

Jamie immediately hurled his knife at the Great Intelligence; a Whisper Man blocked the blade.

"I'm here to stop you," Clara said. "I _will_ stop you."

"You are a foolish girl," the Intelligence sneered. "Scattering yourself along the Doctor's timeline in a feeble attempt to save him from me? How do you expect _your_ copies to defeat every single one of mine?"

"I'll help her defeat ye," Jamie vowed, picking his knife up again. "This copy, and all the others!"

"You?" the Intelligence scoffed. "You are the reason I was able to _accomplish_ this task!"

Jamie's eyes widened in horror.

"No…!"

"When you allowed me to escape in 1968, you gave me all the time I needed to think up this plan," the Intelligence said. "I discovered the means to enter his timestream in that. Had you not set me free, I'd have been drained—destroyed. I should thank you, James McCrimmon—thank you for allowing me my victory."

"No… no, no, no…"

"The mighty Gallifreyan, brought to his end by one lowly piper…" the Intelligence sneered.

"Enough!" Clara snapped. "Even if you are right, he can help me undo the damage! James! …James, snap out of it!" She grabbed Jamie by the shoulders and shook him. "Do you want to save the Doctor, or don't you!?"

"A…Aye…"

"Then help me stop the Intelligence—right here and now."

"That will not happen," the Intelligence smirked. He turned to the Whisper Men. "Finish them."

The Whisper men began to close in; Jamie let out his war cry and tried to attack one, but ended up going right through it. The Whisper Man's hands phased through the Doctor's chest.

"NO!" Jamie yelled.

"Help me carry him!" Clara ordered.

Jamie didn't question her; he held the Doctor up by his arms as she grabbed his ankles; the two of them pulled the Doctor away from the Whisper Man's hands and carried him away as the Whisper Men gave chase.

"We'll never outrun them!" Clara realized.

"What can we do!?" Jamie exclaimed.

"The Great Intelligence did this by entering the Doctor's timestream," Clara said. "What we need to do is get this version of the Intelligence _out_ of his timestream. Out of reality! …But how?"

"Oot of… reality?" Jamie repeated.

He still remembered how, years ago, when he, the Doctor, and Zoe had been on Dulkis, caught in a lava flow, the Doctor had used a button on the TARDIS console to take them out of reality—that White Void.

"I know what to do!" he gasped.

Gently, he placed the Doctor on the ground and began to root through the pockets of his fur coat, finding a slingshot, a paper bag of jelly babies… everything except what he was looking for.

"Hurry!" Clara exclaimed, seeing the Whisper Men drawing nearer.

At last, Jamie found it—the Stattenheim remote control. Using it to summon the TARDIS, he and Clara quickly carried the Doctor inside; even as they closed the doors, the Whisper Men were hammering at the doors, shaking the box violently.

"They're trying to get in!" Clara exclaimed.

"They'll nae make it!" Jamie hissed, slamming his hand on the emergency button.

The TARDIS protested, but dematerialized; the shaking outside continued, and Jamie realized, with horror, that the Whisper Men were somehow able to hold on to the outside of the TARDIS, even as she left reality and landed in the White Void.

"This game of cat and mouse is really quite pointless," the Great Intelligence said, from outside. "It doesn't matter where you try to run; it is over."

"James, look…" Clara said, pointing to the viewscreen. Sure enough, the Great Intelligence was standing with the Whisper Men in the void—but there was something strange about it. Behind the Intelligence was some sort of distortion—like a hole in the void itself—that crackled with an angry, red glow—eerie and unlike the whiteness of the void.

"What is that?" Jamie asked, as he knelt beside the still-motionless Doctor.

"I recognize it," Clara said. "That's the Doctor's timestream, only it's melded with this void. The Great Intelligence caused reality to distort from within the timestream. We're on the inside, looking out."

Jamie couldn't understand what she was saying; he just shook his head and let out a cry as he tried to take the Doctor's pulse, but felt nothing.

"Coming here has nae helped him!" he said, his voice cracking.

"No, but don't you see?" Clara said, pointing to the monitor. "I told you, we're in the Doctor's timestream, looking out. Do you know what'll happen to anything that goes through that rift?"

Jamie shook his head.

"Whatever goes through will be taken out of the Doctor's timestream!" she exclaimed. "And the Great Intelligence is standing _right there_! All you'd have to do is open the doors, and I can tackle him through it!"

"But… what'll happen to ye?"

"I scattered myself across the Doctor's timestream; this copy will just… vanish—disappear from his timestream. But that's all I am—a copy. And with your help, I can get rid of this copy of the Intelligence." She looked him in the eyes. "What do you say?"

"If we do this," Jamie asked. "Will the Doctor be alright?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "It does depend on whether my other copies can defeat the other copies of the Intelligence wreaking havoc in the rest of his timestream. But you're going to have to have faith in me—that the other copies will be able to save him. I'm sure they will—especially if they get help from companions like you."

Jamie nodded, glumly.

"Chin up," Clara ordered, as she turned to face the doors. "On the count of three, then?"

"Aye."

"One… two… three!"

Jamie opened the TARDIS doors; Clara ran out, launching herself in a flying tackle at the Great Intelligence. The Intelligence saw where they were headed—and smirked.

Jamie was unnerved by that smirk. Was this somehow part of the Intelligence's plan!?

The smirk was still on the being's face as he and Clara hit the rift and vanished. The crowd of Whisper Men also vanished, leaving Jamie alone in the TARDIS with the Doctor. The Scot shuddered, trying to push the image of the Intelligence's smirk out of his head as he knelt beside the Doctor once more.

He trembled as he felt for a pulse again; this time, he found an incredibly weak one. Both of the Doctor's hearts were beating, but only just. The Doctor was cringing in pain once again, still not taking any notice of Jamie.

"Doctor…" the piper whispered. "Doctor, can ye hear me?"

The Time Lord's eyes opened slightly, staring blankly at Jamie again. There was still no recognition in his eyes, and Jamie's heart sank.

"It's nae working…" he said. "The other copies of the Great Intelligence must be winning…" He glanced through the open TARDIS doors at the rift, which was still glowing red.

Unbidden, once again, came the Doctor's harsh words, the ones he had shouted at him back in 1968 when he had let the Intelligence escape—

_"Now you've gone and ruined everything!"_

Jamie shut his eyes, desperate not to let the gathering tears fall from his eyes.

"It _is_ all my fault, isn't it? I should've listened to ye when ye were telling me to stop trying to pull ye free from that thing…" He glanced down at the Doctor, who was still looking blankly back at him. "And look at ye now. Look at what ye've become, all thanks to me! Barely alive, fading away…"

He trailed off, staring once again at the open rift.

"Fading away…" he whispered. "Clara said that whate'er goes through that rift fades away from yer timestream, din' she?"

The Doctor didn't reply; he shut his eyes and let out a weak, pained cry.

"Make… make it… stop…"

Jamie gently placed a hand on the side of the Doctor's face, his mind made up.

"Aye. I'll make it stop," he promised. "I know I made a promise, but… Yer other selves could nae have foreseen how damaging this is. Ye're going to die if I don' do something, and I cannae let that happen. Ye're like this now because I stopped ye from defeating the Intelligence in 1968. But if I'm nae in yer timestream… If I'm nae there, ye'll win. Ye'll drain the Intelligence, and ye won' be like this." He clutched the Doctor's hand now, still blinking back tears. "I'll miss ye. I'll miss ye so much—no matter where I end up. …Or if I even end up anywhere at all…"

He let go of the Doctor's hand and stood up, backing out of the TARDIS. The Doctor did look at him, but his face was still blank.

"Ye gave me thirteen years," Jamie said. "And now, I give them back. Goodbye, Doctor."

He shut his eyes, turned, and threw himself into the rift.


	50. You and I, part V

Jamie hadn't known what to expect. He certainly hadn't expected to regain consciousness; nor had he expected to see Rory Williams checking his vital signs upon awakening.

" _Rory_?" he asked, stunned.

Rory blinked.

"Have we met before?"

"Of course we've met before!" Jamie said. "You and Amy and the Doctors—in that jungle temple!"

"You know Amy?" Rory asked. "Did you go to school with her before she moved to Leadworth? I…" He trailed off as a little girl tugged on his arm. "Melody, not now…"

Amy now ran over to them, gathering the girl in her arms.

"Melody, how many times have I told you—when Dad is looking after patients, you can't trouble him," she chided.

"Amy, he says he knows you," Rory said.

Amy looked down at Jamie, and she shook her head.

"Never met him," she stated, carrying Melody away.

"What is going on here…?" Jamie asked. "When I met yer daughter, she was all grown up—with golden hair. That girl had brown hair…"

"You know, I think you might have a concussion," Rory said. He looked over to a line of other beds, where various patients were lying—a blonde woman, a man in a captain's uniform, and a young man watching over them; two doctors were tending to the patients. "Grace? Martha?"

Jamie stared as Grace Holloway approached with a woman that Jamie didn't recognize.

"I think he's got a concussion—or he's seriously delirious," Rory said. He turned back to Jamie. "Dr. Holloway and Dr. Jones will look after you; you're going to be just fine."

"Och, I'm fine now!" Jamie insisted. "Look, is the Doctor alright?"

"We're both fine," said Martha.

"Not ye—I mean… Och, never mind!" the piper said. "Grace, ye know who I'm talking aboot, don' ye?"

"No…" she said, staring at him as though he'd lost his mind. "Rory, I think you're right; he might have a concussion. Any signs of head trauma?"

"None—that's the thing," Rory sighed. "…Do you think it's true—what that woman said?"

"About someone falling through time and space from a different universe?" Grace asked. "I still don't think it's possible."

Martha sighed, finishing up her examination of Jamie.

"Well, I can say he has no head trauma," she said. "Either it's true, or he's mad."

"But it is true!" Jamie exclaimed. "I…" He trailed off, remembering what he had done—removed himself from the Doctor's timestream. That meant that he hadn't met the Doctor—or any of the others. "Oh."

"Something wrong?" Martha asked.

"No," he said. But then, he frowned. Something didn't seem right—even if he hadn't met the Doctor or the other companions, why hadn't Rory and Grace understood when he had mentioned the Doctor?

He looked to Rory and Grace now.

"Look, I need to know what happened to a man who calls himself the Doctor."

Jamie hadn't expected the flash of fear that went across their faces, as well as Martha's.

"Did he send you?" Martha asked. "Are you here because of him? To spy on us? Because I promise you, we haven't even considered any sort of uprising."

"What?" Jamie asked. "Why would anyone stage an uprising against the Doctor?"

"Exactly—everyone knows how foolish it would be," Grace said, suppressing a shudder. "We know that we're the lucky ones—having been spared…"

"Spared?" Jamie asked. "But… ye're the Doctor's friends—ye and Rory!"

" _Friends_?" Rory repeated. "Of that tyrant?"

"What!?" Jamie asked. "The Doctor—a tyrant!?"

"He must've been in a coma all this time if he has no clue," Martha declared. "Or he's an incredible actor."

"He's neither," a woman said, entering the room. "James Robert McCrimmon?"

"Aye?"

"I am Romanadvoratrelundar."

"… _Eh_?"

"I am a Gallifreyan, like the Doctor. I need you to come with me," she said.

"He should probably rest," Grace protested. "If he really has been comatose—"

"And I can assure you, he hasn't been," the Time Lady said. "If we are to have any hope, he is the key."

Jamie eased out of the hospital bed, pulling his shirt back on as he followed the Time Lady down the corridors.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"A safehouse," she said. "You will see many faces you recognize, but they will not recognize you."

"But I don' understand," Jamie said. "Why were they saying that the Doctor is a tyrant? He's kind and gentle and…"

"He was… once," she said.

She didn't say anything more, even though Jamie continued to inquire the meaning of her words. She was right; Jamie saw several people in the safehouse—Donna, Ace, Peri, Mel, Turlough, Leela, Sarah Jane—and none of them gave him a second look. There were also more people he didn't recognize—a brown-haired boy wearing a gold star badge, a woman dressed in a flight attendant's uniform, and many others, including a penguin.

"Who are all these people?" he asked.

"They were spared by the Doctor," Romanadvoratrelundar said. "All others on this planet—and neighboring ones—were forced into servitude."

"Servitude!?" Jamie exclaimed. "The Doctor is nae like that! This does nae make any sense! He…"

He trailed off as the Time Lady led him to a room where there were several faces he recognized.

"Brigadier!" he exclaimed. "Ben! Polly! Och, I don' believe it! Zoe! Victoria!"

Like the others, they stared at him, blankly. Jamie's face fell, and he now looked to the others in the room. These faces, he didn't recognize, except for Susan, who was clinging miserably to a smartly-dressed couple.

"Hey… ye're the Doctor's granddaughter, aren't ye?" Jamie asked.

Her eyes welled up with tears, but she nodded.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "What's happened to the Doctor? People are calling him a tyrant…"

"They will explain," said Romanadvoratrelundar.

"I wish I knew what happened to Grandfather," Susan said, as she clung to the couple. "Even before he warmed up to humans, he wasn't like this! And then, when he met Ian and Barbara…" She looked to the couple. "He changed. He began to care about humans and other species. When we parted ways, I had so much hope for him."

"So did we, Susan," Barbara said, softly. "He helped us get back home—even if reluctantly…"

"And then, when he changed into a younger body…" Polly said. "He just seemed so happy—so full of life."

"He was he nicest bloke you'd ever have met," Ben agreed.

"When my father was killed by the Daleks, he was ever so kind," Victoria said. "He rescued me, looked after me…."

"I know—I was there!" Jamie said.

Victoria looked at him, blankly.

"No…" she said, puzzled.

"Oh, sorry; don' mind me," Jamie said. "But that sounds aboot right. Why would the Doctor change?"

"I'll tell you why," the Brigadier said. "It happened during that incident in the London Underground—1968."

"…What…?"

"The Doctor was a nice enough fellow when I first met him—offered to help with that Yeti business, and that Great Intelligence, whatever it was," the Brigadier said. "He pulled off an excellent plan to defeat the creature—drain it, when it was trying to drain him. …And that's when he went… strange."

"Strange?" Jamie asked.

"When he drained the Great Intelligence, something came over him," Victoria said, with a shudder. "He wasn't the same anymore. He just… became so cold. I couldn't stay with him any longer."

"It's as though draining that creature corrupted him," the Brigadier said, shaking his head. "Pity."

Susan held back a sob.

"He's so clever, though," Zoe said. "Such knowledge! …Makes me wonder if he could've saved the Wheel instead of destroying it along with the Cybermen."

"But he did save the Wheel!" Jamie said. "…Didn't he?"

"When the Wheel was overrun, he just… blew it up," she said. "I was the only survivor; he decided I was clever enough to accompany him… until the Time Lords caught up with us."

"Aye, and they captured him?"

"No," Zoe said, giving him a look. "He led them right into a trap—with help of some old school friends of his… the Master, the Rani, the War Chief…"

" _What_!?"

"They took over Gallifrey," Susan said, quietly. "They make Rassilon look benevolent. And then Grandfather came back here and took control."

"All this because he defeated the Great Intelliegence?" Jamie asked, quietly.

"If I'd have known that he'd have turned into this, I'd have stopped him from draining that Great Intelligence," the Brigadier stated, flatly. "The price of this victory wasn't worth it."

"And… And there's nothing ye can do?" Jamie asked.

"The Doctor has decided to spare us," Barbara said. "I don't think there's any one of us who'd want to chance trying to talk to him."

"I would," Susan said. "He might listen to me…"

"It's too risky, Susan," Ian said. "I know you feel you want to help, but if he is… corrupted, he's only going to end up hurting you."

"There is nothing you can do," Romanadvoratrelundar told her. "But he can help."

Jamie's eyes widened as she looked to him.

"What?!"

"You are a temporal anomaly," she said. "You aren't supposed to be in existence."

"What do ye mean?"

"I mean that James Robert McCrimmon was documented as a casualty of the Battle of Culloden—dead at the age of twenty-two."

"That cannae be!" he said. "I'm here! I'm alive! I'm thirty-five!"

She didn't answer him, instead turning to Ben and Polly.

"What happened when the Doctor took you to Scotland?"

"Nothing," Polly said. "We wandered around for a little bit, and the Doctor decided that there was nothing interesting, so we got back into the TARDIS and left."

"The Doctor ne'er saved me because I di'n meet him," Jamie realized. "But how can I fix this, then?"

"Reality has been distorted," Romanadvoratrelundar said. "Your reality is different. Perhaps there is something with you that is the key."

Jamie's eyes widened, and he quickly pulled the items he had been carrying in his sporran—the slingshot and jelly babies he had taken from the Doctor's coat, and then the Stattenheim remote control and his copy of the TARDIS key.

"That's Time Lord technology," Susan said, her eyes widening upon seeing the Stattenheim. "How did you get it?"

"I took it from the Doctor—I mean, not this Doctor. Well, yes, this Doctor, but this Doctor in another reality. I… Oh, I don' know…"

"If he finds out you have that, he'll have your hide," the Brigadier warned. "Any technology that has anything to do with studying time or space is strictly forbidden. Those blasted Yetis and Whisper Men out there are his eyes and ears."

"Aye, well, I know what I have to do," Jamie said. "I have to use this, summon the TARDIS, and talk to the Doctor."

"You can't talk to him!" Ian said. "No one can! Anyone who tries to go into his citadel is never seen again!"

"Aye, then, I'll be the first!"

"Well, can you at least use that outside?" Ben asked. "We don't want the Doctor to think that we're in cahoots with you!"

Jamie stared at him; the fear was genuine. How cruel was this version of the Doctor? Had Jamie really made _that_ much of a difference in his life?

"Aye, alright," Jamie said, at last.

Without another word, he left the room and headed down the corridor until he left the safehouse, stopping in his tracks as he stepped out under the darkened sky.

There were Yetis about—probably Whisper Men, too, only they were invisible amongst the shadows. The piper crept along, quietly, until he found a safe spot behind a tree. He used the Stattenheim.

He was absolutely startled, though, when a large, metal cylindrical craft appeared instead of the usual police box.

"What…?"

The roar of the nearby Yeti quickly pushed the thought from his mind; he used the key and found that it unlocked the door, and he entered the interior, locking the doors behind him.

It was then he noted how abandoned the interior of the TARDIS looked. This TARDIS hadn't been used in years. Baffled, Jamie looked at the Stattenheim in his hand. Had it gone wrong?

The console suddenly lit up, whirring her familiar, warm hum. Jamie was about to place a hand on the controls when, suddenly, a life-sized projection appeared beside the console. Then another. And another. And many more.

The piper stared; he recognized them all—the earliest Doctor, Sarah Jane's Doctor, Leela's Doctor… all of them… All of them except his Doctor.

"…Doctor…?" he asked, looking from one face to the next. "How… what…?"

"Hello, Jamie," Amy and Rory's Doctor said, giving him a sad smile. "I'm sorry we had to meet like this…"

"Except that we're not really here, of course…" the lone, leather-clad Doctor added.

"I don' understand…"

"We're just echoes," Donna's Doctor said. "Echoes kept alive by a dying TARDIS that somehow remembers an alternate reality. But she's fading fast—and so are we."

"Why is the TARDIS dying?" Jamie asked.

"She'd been abandoned," the earliest Doctor said, gruffly. "She was like that when I found her, actually—alongside a whole line of antiquated TARDISes in need of repairs. It seems that the young woman who convinced me to take her wasn't there to do so in this reality."

"That's because the woman was Clara—one of her copies," Clara's Doctor said. "Clara never threw herself into my timestream in this reality…"

"…Because the Great Intelligence ne'er did, either—my Doctor drained it in 1968 because I was nae here to stop him," Jamie realized. "Och, so it's my fault the TARDIS is dying, too!? I di'n want this! I only wanted to save ye!" Tears fell from his eyes. "E'ery time I try to help ye, I only make things worse! I don' understand how ye were able to put up with me for thirteen years!"

"Isn't it obvious after seeing all of this?" Sarah Jane's Doctor asked. "We needed you."

"And we still do," Grace's Doctor said. "If we even have a chance at restoring things to the way they were."

"Aye," Jamie said. "I just need to take the TARDIS to where'er the Doctor is and talk to him."

"It's not as simple as that, I'm afraid," Leela's Doctor sighed. "The Great Intelligence has corrupted our second self beyond all recognition. You haven't seen him yet…"

The TARDIS viewscreen flickered on, and Jamie couldn't help but let out a gasp.

It was an image of his Doctor, standing on the balcony of his citadel. He had abandoned his usual shabby clothes for a scarlet Prydonian robe that Jamie had seen certain other Time Lords wear on Gallifrey. But it was his eyes that horrified Jamie; the warm, loving blue-green eyes had been replaced by a pair of cold eyes that the piper was certain he had seen once before. And then he had a flash of buried memory—the icy cell… the man who had held him captive until the Master had rescued him… and a name he should have forgotten now returned to his lips.

"The Valeyard…" Jamie gasped. "He's turning into the Valeyard!"

"The transformation is almost complete," Peri's Doctor said, solemnly. "Once the Valeyard gains full control, it'll be over. This TARDIS will die, our echoes will fade, and there will be no going back. And the Valeyard will not be as merciful as our corrupted second self—he _will_ attack the companions that he has spared so far"

"How do I stop it!?" Jamie cried. "What do I do!?"

"This reality came about because you never met us," Ace's Doctor said. "That fateful day in Scotland—a Fixed Point that was changed and now has led us to this crisis! You must go back to that day and ensure that you meet our second self!"

"And that's it!?" Jamie asked. "That'll solve everything?"

"That will solve this problem," Clara's Doctor admitted. "You'll have to put your faith in Clara that she can save us in the other reality, if you succeed in time."

Jamie clutched at his head.

"I don't know why you doubt Clara," he said. "She's the way she is because of you. You didn't ruin things by allowing the Intelligence to escape in 1968—you set everything in motion. Isn't that reason enough to believe?"

"I suppose…"

"If you don't act now, we'll all be lost!" Turlough's Doctor pleaded.

"And not just us—you, too!" said an additional Doctor—one Jamie didn't recognize.

"Eh?" Jamie asked. "But… Romanadvoratrelundar—"

"Oh, really—call her Romana!" Leela's Doctor said. "We don't have time to keep saying her full name!"

"Aye, but… Romana said that I'm already dead in this reality! I died at Culloden!"

"And you haven't even stopped to question why you're standing here now—at age 35? Hmm?" the earliest Doctor asked.

Jamie stared.

"I'm an echo, too," he realized. "Just like all of ye—kept alive by the TARDIS."

"You are an echo, yes," the leather-clad Doctor said. "But that's not the TARDIS's doing. Don't you notice someone missing here?"

"Aye—my Doctor."

"The reason the Valeyard has taken this long to take control is because our second self's true spirit is still fighting," Donna's Doctor said. "And, just like this TARDIS, he can give existence to echoes from another reality."

"Ye mean… my Doctor is keeping me alive now?" Jamie asked.

"It's like I once said," Amy and Rory's Doctor said. "If something can be remembered, it can be brought back."

"But the Doctor forgot aboot me—even in the other reality!" Jamie protested.

"There'd always be a part of our mind that would never forget you," Grace's Doctor said. "A part of our mind where you would always be—never erased… just… asleep. I should know; I've lost my memory enough times, but still remembered you." He gave a wan smile. "We made a promise, after all."

Jamie looked away.

"And I broke all of mine," he said, bitterly.

"So, fix it!" the earliest Doctor chided him.

"It's not too late yet," Sarah Jane's Doctor agreed. "Take the Old Girl back to Culloden and set things right. She'll have to centralize all of her energy to get you there, though; that means we won't be visible to you. But we'll still be here."

Jamie looked back at the Doctors, and then nodded.

"Aye," he said. "I'll fix it."

"The Valeyard won't take this quietly; he'll know you're threatening his existence by doing this. He will use our second self to stop you," Peri's Doctor warned.

"And our corrupted second self will most certainly use the Yetis and the Whisper Men to stop you, too. You'll have to hold out until your rewrite catches up to him and fixes him," Ace's Doctor added.

"I will," Jamie vowed.

"Good luck, Jamie," Turlough's Doctor said, as they all vanished.

Jamie blinked back his tears and then set the controls to take him to Culloden. Even though he had only flown the TARDIS rarely, he had seen the Doctor do it enough times. The old, damaged TARDIS, however, did not fly as smoothly as she did in the reality that Jamie knew.

As he looked up at the viewscreen, he gasped again as he saw the Doctor sense something—his using the TARDIS, no doubt. The Doctor retreated to another TARDIS, which dematerialized. The piper stared at the blank screen for a moment, and then yelled out in fright as something massive crashed into the TARDIS he was now occupying.

Just like the War Chief had tried to do, the Doctor was trying to knock this TARDIS off-course.

"Hold on," Jamie pleaded to the console. "Please. We have to save him!"

The TARDIS let out a noise of protest, but quickly materialized on Culloden Moor. Jamie quickly fled as he heard the sounds of another TARDIS materializing, as well.

He was flat-out running, not even daring to look back as he began to search the familiar area. Eventually, he happened upon the Doctor—in his old, shabby clothes, accompanied by Ben and Polly—handling the hat that Jamie had first seen him holding back on that day.

Beyond the TARDIS team, Jamie could see the younger version of himself, with Alexander McLaren. Neither of them had noticed the Doctor and the others. And present-day Jamie knew that he had to make sure that his younger self saw the Doctor with the hat—without being seen himself.

But how!? He was running out of time; soon, they'd go their separate ways, never meeting. And it would be too late after that; the TARDIS wouldn't be able to have enough energy for another attempt.

Jamie now searched through the items he was carrying on him, desperate to find something to help. But all he had left were the jelly babies and the slingshot.

He cringed, hearing the roar of Yetis behind him. He was running out of time!

Desperate, he did the only thing he could think of—load a few jelly babies into the slingshot and aim it at his past self.

The younger Jamie yelped as one jelly baby smacked him in the side of his face, and the other hit him in the leg. Angrily, he turned towards his left to see the source of the errant gummies… and spotted the Doctor casually handling the hat.

Present-day Jamie quickly ducked behind a tree as his past self angrily nudged Alexander, and as the both of them headed towards the Doctor, Ben, and Polly and quickly took them prisoner.

But as his past self and Alexander marched the TARDIS team off, the present-day Jamie was grinning. He had done it! Now, all he had to do was wait until the rewrite caught up with the rest of space and time…

A crushing blow to his shoulder knocked Jamie off of his feet. The piper let out a cry and looked up, gasping to see the Doctor, in his Prydonian robe, glaring down at him.

"Doc… Doctor…!"

"Who are you!?" the Doctor hissed at him, seizing him by the collar of his jumper and hauling him to his feet. "Where did you get control of a TARDIS!?"

"I… Ye…"

"And what were you planning to do—try and destroy me at an earlier point in my timestream!? Is that who you are—a would-be assassin!?"

"No…! No, I'd ne'er—"

"Well, it looks as though you've failed!" the Doctor snarled, tossing Jamie back into the arms of two Yetis. "And now, you're going to answer my questions!"

Jamie's heart hammered in his chest as the Doctor seized him by the throat. How long would it take for the rewrite to catch up? How long!?

"Where did you get that TARDIS!? How did you get to Gallifrey!? ANSWER ME!"

The back of his hand struck Jamie's face.

"St… Stattenheim…" Jamie gasped.

"Where did you get a Stattenheim from!?" the Doctor demanded, apparently seething. "Who gave it to you!?"

"I got it from ye."

The Doctor struck him again, and Jamie cried out.

"The truth!" he roared. "I want the truth!"

"It is the truth!" Jamie cried. "Doctor, please! Please remember me!"

"I will get the truth from you," the Doctor vowed. "You can try all… all you…"

Jamie's eyes widened, hardly daring to hope as the Doctor trailed off, placing a hand over his face. His eyes were flickering from the colder eyes to the aquamarine eyes, repeatedly.

The Yetis holding Jamie now slouched over, deactivating; Jamie fell from their arms and landed on the ground.

"Doctor…?" he asked, looking up.

"What… what have you done…!?" the Doctor hissed, staring down at him. "What have you done to me!?"

He raised his arm back, as though to strike him again, and Jamie scrambled backwards until he hit a tree, trembling as the Doctor glared daggers at him.

"I'm sorry…" Jamie said. "I should ne'er have broken my promise nae to leave ye."

The Doctor's eyes suddenly flickered back to aquamarine, staring at Jamie cowering just feet from him. His eyes widened.

"Are you…?"

Jamie now looked up, trembling.

"…Jamie…" the Doctor said. "…You're my Jamie!"

Slowly, the piper got to his feet.

"Ye know me…?"

"Of course I… Oh, _Jamie_!"

He extended his arms, still clad in the Prydonian robe, and Jamie's face lit up in a grin as he ran towards him. They were close—almost touching—when a Whisper Man materialized in front of them.

"Doctor!" Jamie cried.

"Oh, my word!"

A footstep caused both the Time Lord and the piper to look away from each other, seeing the human form of the Great Intelligence glaring at the both of them in utter hatred.

"Stop his heart," it hissed.

Jamie let out a cry as the Whisper Man plunged its icy hand into his chest and began to squeeze the fragile organ.

"No!" the Doctor cried, his hands passing uselessly through the creature as he tried, in vain, to stop it. "NO!"

"I worked as hard as I could to create this reality, Doctor," the Intelligence sneered. "I knew, after seeing those copies of the Oswald girl, that you would have had some contingency plan for my attempt to corrupt your timestream. So, I arranged for this to happen. I found the one way of separating you from the piper—playing on his loyalty to you. But now, this reality is fading. Very well; you have your victory, but this is the price I demand—the life of your loyal companion."

Jamie cried out one last time as the Intelligence and the Whisper Man faded away—but the damage had been done. He fell forward into the Doctor's arms.

"Jamie! JAMIE!"

His world was darkening all around him, but the piper felt one point of light in the growing darkness—the Doctor was restored to the way he should be.

And the last thing he was aware of was the Doctor calling his name.

**Epilogue**

One again, Jamie returned to awareness upon extremely unexpected circumstances. He could hear the Doctor—his Doctor—but his voice… Jamie had never heard him sound so _broken_ before.

"Jamie…" his Doctor whispered. "Oh, my poor Jamie…"

The piper forced his eyes open, seeing only a white expanse of nothingness—and dark hair filling his immediate line of vision as he realized that the Doctor had buried his face in his shoulder.

Jamie tried to speak, desperate to communicate, but only a slight squeak emerged from his lips. But it was enough; the Doctor—back in his shabby clothes again—heard him, pulling away from him to see what he hoped more than anything else to see.

"…You're _alive_ …"

Before Jamie could even reply, the Doctor kissed him on the forehead before hugging him close again.

"Oh, I see what happened now!" the Doctor exclaimed. "When the Whisper Man stopped your heart, it was still the alternate reality—but now we're back here! …Either that, or you were still dead here, and the nature of this place allowed me to bend reality enough to will you back to life… Perhaps a bit of both… Oh, I don't know…!"

"Back… here?" Jamie asked, his voice still hoarse.

"Yes…" he said. "We're in the White Void still… but look!"

It took Jamie a moment to realize what the Doctor was saying. He looked in time to see the rift closing—and that the Doctor's timestream was no longer an angry red, but white, like the rest of the void. The rift soon closed.

"Ye're alright," Jamie realized.

"And so are you!" the Doctor said. "Oh, Jamie, I… I really thought I had lost you."

"That's how I felt when the Intelligence corrupted yer timestream," Jamie said, shaking slightly. "Ye were dying, and I… I thought… I thought that by leaving yer timestream, ye'd be better off. But that's what the Intelligence wanted all along, wasn't it? It wanted me to leave yer timestream so that ye'd drain it and turn into… that."

The Doctor gently placed a hand on Jamie's face—where his corrupted self had struck him in the other reality.

"I'm so sorry, Jamie," he said. "Sorry you had to see me like that. Sorry for what he… what I did to you."

"It was all my fault anyway—ye have nothing to apologize for," Jamie said. "It was all because of me." A few more tears fell from his eyes. "I broke the promises I made to ye and yer other selves. I left ye!"

The Doctor hugged him even more tightly.

"What matters most," he said. "Is that you came back."

Still weak, Jamie gently hugged the Doctor back.

"And this time," he promised. "I'll ne'er leave ye. Ye need me too much. …And I need ye, too."

The Doctor just smiled, now helping Jamie to his feet and draping the Scot's arm around him to support him.

"Let's go home, Jamie."

"Home?"

The Doctor glanced pointedly at the TARDIS, now in her police box form once more. Her doors were wide open, as though welcoming them back.

"Home. First, to Gallifrey, to pick up Zoe and Victoria. And then… wherever the Old Girl decides to take us. How does that sound?"

Jamie looked to him with a smile.

"It sounds wonderful."

"Quite."

They headed inside the TARDIS, still clinging to each other. It would take time, but they would heal from this—together. The Great Intelligence's plan had only brought them even closer together than ever before.

Jamie had learned a lot from the Doctor—all of them, and the other companions, too. But the lessons to learn were not over yet. And both he and the Doctor were grateful for that.

**The End**


End file.
